Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

":

- resolves that sections 2 to 4, 6 to 12, 14 and 17 of the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 (No. 39 of 1998) shall continue in operation for the period beginning on 30th June, 2024 and ending on 29th June, 2025; and

- calls on the Minister for Justice to bring forward legislation to give effect to the recommendations of the Independent Review Group as soon as possible.".

Is mian liom cúpla focal a rá mar gheall ar Mhícheál Ó Muircheartaigh. Is é an cuimhne is spórtúla atá agam ar Mhícheál ná na ceithre cluiche in 1991 idir Bhaile Átha Chliath agus an Mhí. Is cuimhin liom chomh maith, cúpla bliain ó shín, bhí sé ag caint ag Siamsa Tíre i dTrá Lá i mo theannta gan nóta ar bith agus bhí sé go hiontach ar fad. Is é an cuimhne is mó atá agam ar Mhícheál ná 12 bliain ó shin ar an Daingean agus é mar Dhaidí na Nollag. Bhí sé ag caint le beirt leanbh a chaill a n-athair. Bhí sé chomh cineálta, deas agus suimiúil leo go raibh an teaghlach an-bhuíoch ar fad. Is cinnte nach mbeidh a leithéid arís ann.

We are going again with another report which recommends renewal of the Offences against the State Act. Four years on from the decision of the former Minister for Justice to establish an independent review group to examine the Offences against the State Act, we have the report but no consequential actions have been taken. The group consulted widely and took submissions from the Bar Council, An Garda Síochána, a UN special rapporteur, the ICCL, IHREC, the DPP, academics and, indeed, Sinn Féin, in that we submitted submissions of our own.

Such a review was also a commitment made during the Good Friday Agreement which stemmed from a recognition that a period of armed conflict, North and South, was coming to an end. The illegal legacy of that conflict needed to be dealt with, and a structured approach to dealing with the past is a non-negotiable part of conflict resolution and reconciliation. The Acts were meant to be in response to an emergency period which was declared as over in 1995. The question remains: does the Government still believe this emergency continues or is it picking and choosing from what is politically expedient?

Sinn Féin recognises that there remains some need for legislation similar to the Offences against the State Act - that is contained also in both the minority and the majority reports of the review group - but it is not sufficient to use this as an excuse to delay the recommendations in the reports. In 2021, our Ard-Fheis passed a motion that affirmed our position that the court is anachronistic and called for a modernisation of the law. The motion also noted the remarks of the UN Human Rights Committee, which has stated that "the trying of civilians by [these non-jury courts] should be very exceptional...".

We also believe the use of any non-jury court must be compliant with international human rights standards; set a high bar on the exceptional circumstances to be met; be subject to judicial oversight; and involve independent human rights oversight to protect the integrity of the process and the human rights of any person tried before such a court. It is over two years since we made a submission to the review. As well as the need for more modern legislation to address the threats to the security of the State from organised criminal gangs, this includes assessments such as the risk of cyberattacks.

I am sure the members of the group must be wondering why they put so much time and effort into the report and they must feel the Government is sitting on the report. The relevant sections are renewed year after year and the Special Criminal Court, which was reintroduced as a temporary measure in 1972, has become a permanent feature of the criminal justice system.

This was reviewed in 2002 by Hederman committee. That committee recommended new legislation and repeal of the Offences against the State Act and yet no subsequent proposals were introduced. Last year the majority in the independent review group recommended repeal. Will there be another 20 years of waiting before another review is sought? The Minister said that she intends to engage with relevant stakeholders in relation to jury reform. That should be done so that we can modernise the criminal justice system.

This debate is somewhat like Groundhog Day, as the Oireachtas should not be discussing the renewal of the legislation again. It is a missed opportunity. The Minister is bringing before the Dáil measures which are outdated, legislation some of which is rarely, if ever, used, and measures which she knows need improvement, and meanwhile is not bringing forward the sorts of reforms and improvements demanded, and recommended by the expert panel which the Government itself established on foot of our calls for change. There is a need for modern legislation to address the challenges facing communities and the State in relation to organised crime.

Of course, this debate is not just about the Special Criminal Court, but an oversight procedure of whatever form should be introduced whereby the DPP must justify their decision to prosecute there in every single case. The exact form needs to be proposed and debated, in committee and in this Chamber.

It is easy to say that cases of jury intimidation is a reason for referral to the Special Criminal Court but that it should be clearly and objectively outlined is a given. There should be a reasonable apprehension of jury intimidation and how safeguards are unlikely to work, and that should be stated.

The DPP should maintain statistics in the exercise of this. The lack of statistics and data on all crime, especially, as we heard earlier today, domestic and gender-based violence, is not confined to this area. We lag way behind neighbouring jurisdictions in our compiling of data in order to manage not only the Offences against the State Act but also gender-based and domestic violence.

The principle of equivalence in the protection of human rights under the Good Friday Agreement should support harmonisation of standards of human rights protection and accountability, but this has not transpired. The Special Criminal Court continues to operate and has actually increased activity over the years. It is obviously hearing criminal cases not associated with armed or proscribed groups. This is another example of inactivity by the Government.

The implementation of CoFPI has not occurred. There has not been enough diversity introduced to An Garda Síochána. Data, as I said, for domestic and gender-based violence has not been compiled. There are nine counties with no domestic violence refuge and the legal aid threshold, in particular, for women seeking legal address, is way too low.

The risk of business as usual for the Offences Against the State Act continues indefinitely. It suits the Government to do as little as possible and then blame political opponents for the issues that arise. The proposals of both reports should be considered in more detail and if the Minister is consulting, we need to see what is being said. In the meantime, we have another year where communities face the scourge of criminal gangs, and gardaí feel under-resourced and under-appreciated.

The most recent expert group, in essence, recommended the same thing.

5 o’clock

There is no legal, operational or moral reason for this to continue. I call on the Minister to implement the recommendations, listen to gardaí and to communities, such as those outside the gates of Leinster House today whose family members died from drug use, invest in community drug teams and clinics, which have been starved of resources, and listen to the community projects, if she is serious about tackling crime and the fear of crime.

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