Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 6, subsection (2), between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following:
"(d) jeopardise the human rights of a person.".

This amendment concerns human rights standards in the State. Amnesty International has found that almost every state in the EU has been guilty of human rights abuses, including abuses on the part of their police services. The amendment seeks to enshrine human rights standards to strengthen the Bill. It is perfectly reasonable that this should be a consideration when we are weighing up whether to provide information to Europol or to refuse to do so. All legislation should be human rights proofed, particularly where it relates to justice and due process. Clearly it should be a legitimate consideration.

Amendment No. 4 is a related point. All our legislation should be human rights proofed, particularly when we are considering how justice information is being used. Therefore, we need to ensure that both the processes used in the unit and by liaison officers are human rights proofed and that liaison officers are well trained in this regard and will be well informed as to the dangers of mishandling information or how human rights can be put at risk by failing to abide by due process. This will ensure best practice is followed and that any risk of miscarriages of justice are minimised.

Amendment No. 6 has the same effect as amendment No. 3 but applies to section 7. It seeks to ensure the State can refuse to co-operate should it be of the view that permitting the investigation would jeopardise the human rights of a person. It is entirely within the realms of possibility that such circumstances could arise. Therefore, this should be one of the grounds for reserving the right to refuse permission for an investigation and maintain a good perception of Ireland in terms of its human rights.