Joe Conway (Independent)

I am happy to be speak on these conjoined motions. The Minister of State went through the genesis of the Special Criminal Court and the Offences Against the State Act. I understand that many in the House will probably consider the two Acts under discussion as legal anachronisms. In terms of combating national and international terrorism, however, they are both still relevant and necessary. I say that with the say-so of the remainder of our group.

The 2025 report on the operation of the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act and the report on the operation of section 8 of the 2009 Act indicate that between 2009 and 31 May 2025, there have been a total of 1,116 arrests under the provisions of the Acts. We hear many international human rights organisations, which, in general, I firmly support, casting doubt on the evidence that is gained in secret through taping and video-recording and on taking the word of a garda as evidence. The fact remains, however, that out of those 1,000-plus arrests, a total of 13 convictions have been secured. That is not out of kilter with the position in comparable jurisdictions or the lower courts.

I will now address the Good Friday Agreement, which is one of the most important documents in the history of Ireland in this century and the previous one. Oftentimes, it has been threatened by the activities of groups on both sides of the political divide. These groups are heinous and dangerous in their composition and actions. The Garda Commissioner is of the view that the Acts to which the motion relates continue to be a very important tool in the armoury of An Garda Síochána in its ongoing fight against terrorism. Key provisions of the Acts are regularly used in the ongoing investigations of terrorist activity. It is important that this House mandates the continuing use of those provisions for another year at least.

Molaim An Garda Síochána. Tá sé tuillte aige. Comhlíonann sé a dhualgais go díograiseach. In this century, 26 members of An Garda Síochána have lost their lives as a result of one type of heinous illegal activity or another. As the Minister of State and Senator Gallagher stated, the work of gardaí in protecting the community is growing ever more complex and demanding in light of modern developments.

It was reported in The Irish Times last month that the legislation underpinning the Special Criminal Court and the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act are set to be repealed by the Minister for Justice on the recommendation of the review group. As far as I understand the matter, however, it is still acknowledged widely, and we have had evidence of it here today, that non-jury trials will play quite a significant role in the future of justice in Ireland.

I want to talk about one aspect of the collection of information and its use by terrorist organisations and how important it is that gardaí and the forces of law and order are able to keep up to speed with developments that happen and that are probably not in the ken of anyone in this House. I would not be able to do it anyway, and I am not too sure that many others in the House would be either. An estimated 6% of content on the Internet is to be found on the dark web. If I was asked to get on to the dark web, I do not think I would have a clue how to do so. However, I am reliably assured that with a basic five-minute tutorial I would be able to do so. Generally, we would use something like Google or Bing, but using an onion router like the Tor browser is the way to get on dark web. The latter utilises content from individual sources like forums, emails, social media and company databases. Everything within the dark web is decentralised. In order to access content, users need to type in complex links composed of numbers and letters, but they can be easily directed as to where to find these. For example, the commerce website known as Dream Market has an address that is an amalgam of letters and numbers that is finalised by .onion. That is the significant factor. The dark web contains information about public representatives, military figures and so on. It also contains an awful lot of information about weapons, the procurement and construction of weapons and explosives and just about every dog-and-divil device that can be produced to take life, maim and cause mayhem in societies such as ours that deeply value democracy. That is why I and the members of my group are steadfast in urging the continuance of this legislation.