Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that the Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill is currently being drafted and I hope to be in a position to publish it next year.

As the Deputy may be aware the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing recommended the codification of police powers, supported by statutory codes of practice, for the purposes of clarity and transparency.

The Bill will fulfil a commitment in the Programme for Government to modernise and codify the Garda powers of search, arrest and detention.

The main aims of the Bill are to:

- provide a clear and transparent statutory basis for the existing police powers of search, arrest and detention;

- in respect of those powers, place the fundamental and procedural rights of suspected and accused persons on a statutory basis; and

- rationalise and modernise Garda powers to take into account developments in modern technology and best practice in policing.