Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 101:

In page 46, before section 72, to insert the following new section:

72.—Notwithstanding sections 55 and 73, the exchange of any type of information or other form of co-operation between—

(a) the Garda Commissioner or any member of the Garda Síochána and the Ombudsman Commission,

(b) The Garda Commissioner or any member of the Garda Síochána and the Inspectorate,

(c) the Ombudsman Commission and a comparable body outside the State,

made in the course of, and in accordance with, the duties of that person's office, shall not be an offence.".

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that the ombudsman commission can co-operate with or provide information to an ombudsman of another police force, where that might be required. It also allows for the free flow of information between the Garda Síochána and the ombudsman commission.