Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-10
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Michael McDowell (IND), National University of Ireland

Again, this is an example of the Department officials taking a very absolute position. God bless them if they are right but if they are wrong that is a different matter.
If a vehicle is stationary in a public place and locked and a garda suspects there could be, say, stolen property or controlled drugs inside it, has a garda the right to take out a jemmy and open the boot or to break the windows to get in? The Minister of State is saying this is covered by other legislation but I wonder if she is right about that. There is a tendency sometimes to be protective of the drafting that is done by the draftsman but I would ask has a garda the right to break the fly window of a car to take a look inside? Has he or she the right to jemmy open the boot? I do not know; I do not think they do. This is not purely personal; it is giving the gardaí reasonable powers to search not only abandoned vehicles but also stationary vehicles for which there is no explanation for their presence in a place. Is it open to a garda to force his or her way into a car on the grounds that he or she suspects that it may contain cannabis, for example? I wonder.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-10