Terry Brennan (Fine Gael)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire ar ais arís go dtí an tSeanad. Section 29 allows a Garda superintendent to issue a warrant where he or she is satisfied that evidence of, or relating to, the commission or intended commission of an offence scheduled for the purpose of Part 5 of the 1939 Act, such as firearms and explosives offences, or a small number of other serious offences were to be found. It did not require a superintendent to be independent of the investigation, so this is obviously a change.

While the Garda Síochána can, pending the enactment of the new legislation, apply for warrants to District Court judges, the loss of section 29 has potentially significant implications for Garda operations in the event of urgent situations such as firearms and explosives offences. There will be occasions when it is not practicable to apply to a District Court judge in the time available.

The scope of this Bill is limited to addressing future Garda investigations. As the Minister said, it is a short Bill comprising only four sections. It provides that section 29 is to be replaced with a provision that is designed to be in conformity with the recent Supreme Court judgment.

Search warrant applications must now be made to a District Court judge. It limits the circumstances in which a Garda superintendent, or someone above that rank, may authorise a search warrant in urgent circumstances, requiring the immediate issuance of the warrant that would render it impracticable to apply to a District Court judge.

In his statement, the Minister referred to peace commissioners. Perhaps he could elaborate on the role of a peace commissioner in these circumstances.

The Bill requires a superintendent who issues a warrant to be totally independent of the investigation. It also requires a superintendent who issues a warrant to record the grounds on which he or she issued it, including the circumstances of urgency giving rise to the immediate need for the warrant. It provides that a warrant issued by a superintendent shall lapse after 48 hours compared with a warrant issued by a judge which is valid for seven days.

I support the call that the Bill be enacted as soon as possible in order to restore the search powers available to the Garda Síochána in relation to subversive and other serious crimes. As Senator Hayden has stated, we have a Garda Síochána force of which to be proud. It is important to make these search powers available to gardaí without delay. I congratulate the Minister on his work to date. I commend the Members of the Opposition who are supporting this Bill.