Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I hope that the purpose of this provision is quite simple. If, for whatever reason, the secondment of a PSNI officer to the Garda Síochána either expires or is terminated, this provision allows for the disciplinary regulations and the provisions of the Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act 1986, as described in section 6(2), to continue to apply. This allows for the continuation of a disciplinary process, or a commencement of a disciplinary process, in respect of a member of the PSNI who is on secondment as a result of an alleged breach of discipline while appointed to a rank in the Garda Síochána on secondment.

The amendment proposes that the regulations, the 1986 Act and this section will continue to apply "for as long as the person is a member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland". The obvious reason for this provision is that if the person concerned is no longer a member of the PSNI, there is little point in pursuing disciplinary proceedings when the worst sanction that could be subsequently imposed is that he or she would be dismissed. This would be a pointless exercise if the person in question had already left the force. If a criminal matter arose relating to an incident which may have occurred during the secondment period, however, the fact that the person concerned may have subsequently left the PSNI would not prevent criminal law from applying in the normal manner. I propose that the amendment be accepted.