Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

The Minister is opposed to this amendment. The powers at present available to members of the Garda Síochána under the legislative provisions in question are highly unlikely to be required by designated officers of the ombudsman commission for the purpose of conducting investigations into complaints from members of the public about members of the Garda Síochána. It is for that reason that these provisions are specifically excluded from the definition of the term "enactment" in sections 5(a) and (b).

The provisions in question relate to the Offences against the State Acts, particularly the powers of extended detention periods and the telephone intersection measures in the 1993 Act. In the case of the latter, however, the designated officers of the ombudsman commission will have the same powers that are available to a chief superintendent of the Garda Síochána to obtain the billing information or call-related information from service providers, but not the call content, to assist them in their investigations in serious cases. That is the purpose behind the reference to the application of section 13(2) of the 1993 Act in section 95(b) of the Bill.