Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Members for their support for the motion, especially Senator Regan of Fine Gael. Earlier this week I attended a conference attended by the Garda Commissioner, Fachtna Murphy, and the Chief Constable of the PSNI, Sir Hugh Orde. It is clear from those discussions that the threat posed by dissident republican groups is very serious. The threats are very real for many of the officers from both the PSNI and the Garda Síochána who attended the conference. It is particularly true for PSNI officers who continue to be targeted by these dissident republican groups.

On that occasion I made it very clear, as did the Deputy First Minister for the North, Martin McGuinness — some may find that ironic — that no quarter would be given to these dissident republicans in their continued efforts to destabilise the peace that is now well established on the island. They will be ruthlessly pursued and hunted down. The Garda Síochána and PSNI have an extraordinarily high level of co-operation on this matter. It is fair to say that the level of co-operation between the Garda Síochána and the PSNI has never been higher. It would be a terrible mistake on our part to relinquish these powers in the belief that we were living in an idealised world as a result of the peace process that unfolded from the first IRA ceasefire in 1994. Some very dangerous individuals are involved in the dissident organisations. They are concentrated in particular parts of the Border area and we need to be very vigilant in continuing to be able to address the threat they pose. I instanced the number of attacks that have been conducted to date.

Senator Bacik stated that some of the powers have not been used. I would emphasise they have not been used during this particular one-year review of the legislation. However, they have been used in previous successful prosecutions. Notably section 6 was used in previous years to secure the prosecution and conviction of Michael McKevitt, the undoubted leader of one of those terrorist organisations. It would be somewhat presumptuous to assume we should relinquish the section 6 power which specifies an offence of directing the activities of an organisation. It would be rather foolish to relinquish that section on civil liberties grounds at the urging of Senator Bacik on the basis that it has not been used in the past year. The only time it was used, it was used very effectively against one of the biggest figures in the dissident republican movement. It is not a time for complacency.

While we have this domestic threat on the island, there has been a very significant presence, especially prior to 11 September 2001, of significant individuals, one of whom was a neighbour of mine, living literally down the road from where I live in Dublin, who were intimately involved in the logistical support for the operations on 11 September 2001. Considering the international threat posed by al-Qaeda and others, unfortunately the Garda Síochána still needs these special powers. Like Senator Bacik I would love to see the value of basic civil liberties being optimised in a world——