Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I echo the words of Senators Regan and Alex White. I refer to the Minister's comments on the cross-examination of a garda on the beat or the garda who proposes to give this evidence. The difficulty is that a garda, of chief superintendent or another rank, routinely claims privilege. Perhaps I will wait until I have the Minister's attention. The garda claims privilege over sources or claims that it is confidential information. This makes it difficult to cross-examine or get to the root of the basis for the belief. The difficulty with this provision is that it does not require any basis for the belief, nor corroboration. It is flawed.