Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-26
============================================================

Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

I suggest that the Senator looks at Part 3, which deals with the search of premises. Section 16 deals with the definitions.
Section 17 deals with an application for a search warrant to the District Court and sets out the offences specified in respect of it.
Section 18 then deals with the issue of a search warrant. Section 18(1) states: "A judge of the District Court ... may, on an application, issue a search warrant ... if satisfied by information provided by ... the application that—
(a) there are reasonable grounds for suspecting ... and
(b) the issuing of the search warrant is necessary ...
They are the general provisions.
Section 19 then deals with the search of electronic device or information system under a search warrant. That section is specifically included because of another Supreme Court Decision, called Quirke, where Mr. Justice Charleton said that an electronic or computer system, a phone or a computer is a separate space for which you require a separate search warrant. At present we do not have that. Section 19 deals with that effect.
Section 20 provides that the "Search warrant may authorise examination of material subject to section 2(2)(b) privilege in certain circumstances". We know what section 2(2)(b) privilege is because it is already defined. I suppose that allows for a warrant to examine material where it is necessary for the purpose of protecting the life or personal safety of people. If somebody is sort of saying there is journalistic privilege, then this section gets around that if there are circumstances where the life or safety of people is threatened. It is an exceptional provision but I think it is necessary and it is not one, I would have thought, that is regularly going to be used.
Section 21 deals with the right to be informed of search pursuant to the search warrant. Obviously when the guards go to the house they are obliged to tell the person that they have an authorised warrant to search the premises.
Section 22 deals with the exercise of powers under a search warrant and details what it is permitted to do in terms of exercising the powers under the search warrant.
Section 23 deals with the treatment of material seized under a search warrant. Section 23(1) states "An authorised member who ... seizes material, shall ensure that following its removal", the material is recorded and stored appropriately.
Section 24 deals with the issue as the determination as to privilege. Section 24(1) states:
This subsection applies where—
(a) material has been the subject of a privilege screening analysis or an examination ...
(b) it is considered that the material concerned may be privileged material, and
(c) the authorised member wishes to have access to the material on the grounds that he or she considers that the material is evidence of or relating to the commission of an offence.
It sets out in section 24 what happens in terms of the determination as to privilege. There can also be, as provided for in section 25, agreement between the parties. This is where gardaí and the person being searched agree that one part is privileged, while the other sections are not, and that they are the ones dealing with search privilege. I should have referred the Senator earlier to section 19(1)(d), on the search of an electronic device, which includes a is specific reference to conducting "a privilege screening of the data (whether captured or not) contained in or accessible from an electronic device or information system ... found at the place of search".
At the beginning of section 19, it states:
a search warrant may be expressed, and operate, to authorise the authorised member [the garda], in addition to exercising any power specified in sections 18 or 20 , to do such of the following as the issuing judge considers necessary and proportionate having regard to the information provided to him or her by the applicant under section 17
Section 17 also provides a requirement in terms of identifying where there may be information which is privileged. That is correct. If Senator McDowell reads section 17, he will see "application for a search warrant" and in section 17(5) it states:
Where an applicant [the garda] suspects that privileged material may be present at the proposed place of search, or contained in, or accessible from, any electronic device or information system that may be present at that place, his or her application shall [meaning it is a mandatory requirement] include such information as is known to him or her relating to—
(a) the nature of the privileged material concerned, and
(b) any other matter relating to the privileged material that the applicant considers relevant to the issuing of the search warrant.
There is, therefore, a procedure set out in Part 3 in respect of a search warrant. Obviously, a search warrant is a warrant. The same warrant is issued to search, say, my house or the house of an editor of The Irish Times . It is the same warrant but the circumstances will be different and the provisions will be different. The order of the District Court may be different because in a certain instance there may be journalistic privilege and the court may set out in those circumstances what is or is not appropriate to be done in terms of the ultimate determination of it.
We are dependent to a large extent on people asserting their rights. If somebody knows they are going to be the subject of a search warrant, their premises is being searched and they have been informed about it, they have to assert their rights. If they assert their rights, there is a mechanism here for their assertion to be determined.
Similarly, it puts a greater obligation on An Garda Síochána. There was a criticism of the gardaí involved in the Corcoran case. If a garda knows or suspects they are searching the house of a solicitor, a barrister or a journalist, they suspect that there is going to be privileged material there. Under section 17, as I just showed the Senator, there is now a statutory obligation on a garda to tell the District Court that the warrant is for the purpose of, for example, searching a solicitor's house who the garda thinks is involved in the commission of criminal offences and that, because it is a solicitor's house, there may be privileged material there, and the garda wants to search the solicitor's computer, seize their phone on which there is probably privileged material and therefore the garda wants to inform the court about it. There is a mechanism put in place to determine that. This is not a good defence of it but, obviously, it is far better than what is contained in section 10 at present. As regards the point I just made, when we look at section 10 there is no statutory duty imposed upon the Garda, whereas now there is a statutory mechanism put in place that recognises and allows for the determination of claims of privilege.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-26