Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

We are not against the relieving of gardaí from duties such as this. The Minister of State referred to the deployment of extra gardaí. We were particularly in favour of the implementation of the report recommending the relieving of approximately 500 gardaí from administrative duties and that such posts would become Civil Service-type positions.

The Minister of State referred to powers under the section. It is not proposed that such personnel will have a power of arrest, but the proposed power they will have to search is significant. How many campaigns around that issue have there been in terms of its implications for infringing human rights? A person who is searched could feel that his or her personal integrity is being infringed by the searcher. Down the line people could feel their rights have been infringed. That is a significant issue.

The main point concerning this section is that such powers are not underpinned by the type of provisions that apply to the Garda Síochána throughout the Bill. The Minister of State is basically saying that a private firm could recruit people for this purpose, yet unlike the position that applies to the Garda Síochána, no regulations will underpin such recruitment. I have raised similar concerns regarding training. Those concerns are the main problem with this section. There are no accountability provisions regarding these people. They will have substantial powers, yet provisions in respect of similar powers apply to the Garda Síochána. That is a serious problem with this section.