John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I acknowledge the typo and I got the drift from the other two amendments that they were all related. I gave this matter some thought from a practical point of view because I had listened to the previous debate.

The amendment deals with where an approval is given in an urgent situation by a superior officer where there is insufficient time to apply to the District Court for an authorisation. The amendment calls for the period for which the urgent surveillance would be approved to be confined to 24 hours where the surveillance to be carried out is in a private dwelling. The situations which amount to urgency in the context of surveillance are strictly defined in the Bill. As Senator Bacik stated, they are situations where it is believed that in the normal circumstances the court would grant an authorisation but that particular urgent circumstances are present which require immediate action to initiate the surveillance. These include that the subject of the surveillance might abscond, obstruct the course of justice or commit an arrestable offence; that information or evidence may be destroyed or lost; or that the security of the State is likely to be affected. Approved surveillance in cases of urgency is limited in the Bill to a period of no longer than 72 hours. Any surveillance for longer than 72 hours must be authorised by a judge. There is no possibility for renewal of the 72 hour period; a court authorisation is mandatory if the surveillance is to be continued.

The ability to initiate surveillance immediately in cases of urgency is critical for the investigation and prevention of offences. A number of safeguards underpin the Bill which recognise the privacy rights of the individual and take account of constitutional rights and rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. The constitutional position on the inviolability of the dwelling is clear in that the dwelling is inviolable save in accordance with the law. In the Bill, we are setting out statutory provisions which ground entry onto private property for the purposes of surveillance.

In urgent situations, the limitation of approvals to 72 hours has been given careful consideration and has been included on the advice of the Attorney General and the views of the Garda Síochána and other agencies concerned. They agree that a minimum period of 72 hours is necessary for the initiation and carrying out of surveillance and for the withdrawal of surveillance devices where the surveillance is not to be continued.

In dealing with the type of gangland crime at which this legislation is directed and in a situation of urgency, the officers concerned may not be in a position to determine whether a building or other location constitutes a private dwelling. Moving from place to place is a characteristic of this class of criminal, using a variety of properties which may have the appearance of a dwelling but may not in fact be so. The 72 hour period is sufficiently strict while being effective.

To enable urgent surveillance to be carried out through two separate regimes, one for a dwelling and one for other locations in situations where quick action is required, would, from an operational point of view, be very difficult for the agencies concerned and it is on the advice of the Attorney General and discussions with the Garda Síochána that I will not be accepting the amendment.