Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I am sorry. I understood the Senator to say it was used more frequently. Since 2007, a total of 19 individuals have been detained for questioning by the Garda under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007. A total of four persons have been detained for up to 48 hours. A total of 13 persons have been detained for up to five days. A total of two persons have been detained for up to seven days. Again, there was a relatively sparing use of the provision.

This is a limited provision for use in limited circumstances. It is at the sole discretion of the judge. It was established in the DPP v. Donohue case that this is in total conformity with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to a fair trial. It is a proportionate response to the various issues that have been raised. One of those is seeking to return to a situation where pretrial hearings are exactly that and not full-blown trials with all the legal paraphernalia that goes with that. The provision addresses to a certain extent, at the discretion of the judge, any perception that a few rogue solicitors or other members of the legal profession are passing information. As a member of that profession, it would be disgraceful if anybody were engaged in that activity. This is a good and balanced response and one which I have no doubt will be looked upon as a provision the purpose of which is to protect everyone. I emphasise again that this is not just for the protection of the investigation process but also for the protection of lawyers by ensuring they are not put in an invidious position whereby they may come under severe pressure by dangerous people to divulge the information to which they were made privy during the pretrial hearing.