Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-10
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Lynn Ruane (IND), University of Dublin

I have just a couple of points. I do not really understand the census comment. Are we saying we will put some categories on the census that ask whether people have been stopped and searched? The comparison feels irrelevant. We are obviously talking about capturing data as it relates to policing methods but also with the idea it would be framed negatively against some communities, we need to be very careful when we say that because that is not what we are trying to achieve at all. If that was the case, I would not be fighting for all of these years to capture data on how much some communities that have been extremely underserved and under-represented for generations are policed. I would be afraid that I might be stigmatised or the people I care about or work for being stigmatised but I am not. We do it because it is the only way you begin to improve policing practices in order that you have a fair, equal and just criminal justice system.
If we stand over any legislation or any law that is not applied equally to all people, what it does is it undermines and underserves the justice system and democracy as a whole. We are then bringing in legislation that, when it is implemented and becomes active, will only be used on certain communities. We are not acknowledging that in the legislation because that will never be said out loud unless we actually collect the data so we can better protect and keep people safe. I am confused by what the census has to do with stop and search. We are not looking to see how many people of a certain ethnicity exist in the country. We are looking to see how the police make their decisions in terms of how much they use stop and search, in what clusters do they use it and for what reason.

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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