Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-10
============================================================

Catherine Ardagh (FF), Dublin South-Central

I appreciate the sensitivities of the situation the amendment seeks to address in relation to that particular incident. I think it was one lady at the time. Under sections 9 and 10, a Garda member must have reasonable grounds to search a person or vehicle. The Bill already provides that gardaí will require a person to attend a Garda custody facility for the purposes of a search of the nature that the amendment describes. Once a person enters a Garda station, the member in charge is responsible for their welfare and safety.
The Criminal Justice Act 1984 (Treatment of Persons in Custody in Garda Síochána Stations) Regulations 1987 provide, under regulation 17, several of the protections sought. A person in custody shall not be searched by a person other than a doctor of the opposite sex. Where a search of a person in custody involves removal of clothing other than headgear or a coat, jacket, glove or similar article of clothing, no person of the opposite sex shall be present unless that person is either a doctor or the member in charge considers that the presence of that person is necessary by reason of the violent conduct of the person to be searched. A search of a person in custody involving removal of underclothing shall, where practical, be carried out by a doctor.
As an operational matter, it is more appropriate to regulations than primary legislation. I cannot accept the amendment.

---

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/2026-06-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-10