Terry Brennan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit ar ais go dtí an Seanad.

The Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 was passed in the wake of the murder of 29 people by the Real IRA in Omagh on 15 August 1998. It was a necessary response to that atrocity and the loss of 29 innocent lives. That bombing and those murders represented a direct attack on the fragile peace process and the State as a major sponsor of that process. It demanded a robust response from the State and a clear statement that the views of those murderers would no longer prevail. We have had enough of their agenda of hatred, sectarianism and contempt for the will of the majority. Like the rest of us, they were given an opportunity to decide in a democratic way on the future of this island and the relationship between the two jurisdictions. However, they resorted to murder and terror, but they were never going to succeed and they have not succeeded. To this day, some of them are continuing to pursue an ideology of hatred and destruction. In 1998 the State had a responsibility to respond to the direct challenge presented by them. One such response was to provide for strong legislative powers to ensure the Garda and the courts would be in a position to meet the challenge presented. The Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 was a necessary and proportionate response. It contains a series of amendments to the Offences against the State Acts 1939 to 1985 to make them more responsive to the threat from certain groups. The Garda's assessment of the terrorist threat level in Northern Ireland is shared by the PSNI.