Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-17
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Michael McDowell (IND), National University of Ireland

Briefly, I want to reply, if I may, to the Minister's contribution. First, the information which a member of An Garda Síochána is obliged, under the Minister's text, to establish under section 13(2)(a), is "the name, address and date of birth of the person or, as the case may be, the driver of the vehicle". Those are three things which certainly are mandatory requirements of the report of a stop and search. If we are into questionnaires on the side of a street, those things have to be recorded and the reason for the search has to be recorded.
According to section 13(2)(e): "the outcome of the search" has to be recorded. The Minister mentioned the accumulation of information, in searches that yield nothing, would complicate matters. It is already required to be made. If somebody is stopped and searched, the Minister's text requires it to be said that there was a search, these were the reasons for the search, and this is the main address and age of the person involved. Section 8 states that a member of An Garda Síochána is entitled to "require the person to provide his or her name, address and date of birth". That provision is already in the Bill.
The additional entitlement that the amendment would make to allow the Minister, in his discretion, to include further material to be recorded does not complicate anything if the Minister decides that ethnicity, race or nationality are irrelevant. Senator Keogan, after Committee Stage, informed me that she was told by members of An Garda Síochána that these are recorded. Again, the Minister said that he would confirm to Senator Keogan whether this kind of material is recorded and we are having a Report Stage debate before that information was furnished to her, which I think is unfortunate to put it mildly.
As for the common identifier idea the Minister has mentioned based on the PPS or whatever else, just imagine it is the PPS number. The PPS is not recorded on the street. No reasonable person, and none of us, know our PPS numbers unless we have a robotic memory. If a Garda asked me for my PPS number I would have to tell him that I have no idea whatsoever. Maybe it is my VAT number or it is the same number.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-17