Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The House will be aware that the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 was enacted in the wake of the murder of 29 people by the Real IRA in Omagh on 15 August of that year. It was a necessary response to that atrocity and the loss of 29 innocent lives. The bombing and those murders represented a direct attack also on the fragile peace process and indeed on this State. It demanded a resolute response from the State and a clear statement that the morally bankrupt culture of death adopted by these murderers would not prevail over the will of the majority on this island who wished to live in peace. There was a clear necessity to provide strong legislative powers to ensure that the Garda and the courts were in a position to meet the challenges laid down by the opponents of peace. In that regard, the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 provided that response.

It is right at the outset that I pay tribute to the excellent work of An Garda Síochána, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, in counteracting the threat from the paramilitary organisations. Their ongoing seamless co-operation has foiled many attacks and saved the lives, to this day, of innocent people.

The Act 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. Principally, these amendments concern the following: changes in the rules of evidence for certain offences under the Acts, including the drawing of inferences in certain circumstances; the creation of new offences, such as directing an unlawful organisation, possession of certain articles and collecting information; and extending the maximum period of detention permitted under section 30 of the 1939 Act to 72 hours.

Section 18 of the 1998 Act, as amended by section 37 of the Criminal Justice Act, provides that sections 2 to 4, 6 to 12,14 and 17 must be renewed by the Oireachtas at specified intervals if they are to remain in force. By virtue of resolutions passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas in June 2014, these sections continued in force for a period of 12 months.

Prior to moving any motion for renewal, the Act requires that I lay before the Oireachtas a report on the operation of the relevant provisions. The present report covers the period from 1 June 2014 to 31 May 2015. The report was laid before the House on 10 June 2015. It also includes, following a commitment given previously, a table showing the figures for each of the years since the Act came into operation.The table helps to show the importance of the Act in equipping the Garda to detect and prevent terrorist actions.

It is the fervent wish of the Government and, no doubt this House, that the time will come when these provisions will no longer be required. As Minister for Justice and Equality, I must take into account the reality of the situation. In that regard, the Garda assessment, which is shared by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, of the terrorist threat level in Northern Ireland is that it is regarded as severe. We all know that those groups are vehemently opposed to peace and seek to attack the institutions of Northern Ireland and destabilise the peace process. I wish to tell them that they will never succeed.

While the direct threat level in this jurisdiction may be different, it is imperative that our laws and our police are properly equipped to deal with the threat, whether it is in this jurisdiction or Northern Ireland. Let no one be under any illusion that these groups do not represent a threat to this State, as well as to Northern Ireland. It is a clearly established fact that these groups operate hand in hand with organised criminals and, in their behaviour, are indistinguishable from such elements. Any ideology, if it was ever possessed by them, has long ago been eroded by a culture of extortion, kidnappings, beatings and drug dealings.