Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-23 ============================================================ Conor Murphy (SF), Industrial and Commercial Panel Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. We have a number of serious concerns regarding the legislation. While I fully recognise the need for robust and effective laws to deal with real and ongoing threats of terrorism, and the Bill does indeed deal with many of the emerging challenges in recent years in relation to bad actors in particular, we must ensure terrorism-related provisions are not misused to target legitimate political protests, activism or freedom of expression. Unfortunately, the Bill as drafted fails to guard against this, so we will not be supporting it today. The expansion of the definition of the provisions relating to provocation of terrorism is deeply problematic. I will cite two examples, both from Britain, but nonetheless examples of either the wilful misinterpretation of legislation or the unintended consequences – perhaps some might consider them to be intended – of such legislation. One is where a member of the band Kneecap faced terrorism charges for waving a flag on a stage in Britain. The reality was that the main objection the prosecutors had to him was his support for the people of Palestine, who continue to live with genocide and occupation. The other example relates to the interpretation by a judge of legislation that pertains in Britain. Four protesters at a protest against Britain's support of Israel were convicted of public order offences and then had these interpreted as terrorism charges by the judge. They were given very lengthy sentences. I cite these as examples of how what may be intended consequences can be taken either by prosecutors or by the Judiciary in the direction of unintended consequences. The legislation is also too broad in its definition of terrorism. I fear that, under its terms, those involved in liberation struggles or resisting oppression or occupation could be criminalised. We only need to look at what is happening internationally. We have seen Irish citizens engaged in legitimate protest against the genocide in Gaza being accused of terrorism by the Israeli Government. Our colleague Senator Chris Andrews has spoken about his treatment at the hands of the Israel Defense Forces, and, likewise, that of Dr. Margaret Connolly, sister of Uachtarán Catherine Connolly. We have particularly serious concerns about the section dealing with public provocation of terrorism. This is the section referred to by Senator Keogan. The language of glorifying terrorism is not neutral; it is the language of reactionary unionism in the context of this island, language that has been used in the North to criminalise families attending commemorations for loved ones killed during the conflict. It is reasonable to argue that the follow-through of that, as Senator Keogan suggested, could well affect those commemorating the 1916 Rising or the events at Béal na Bláth or Kilmichael. These are events that could be brought into that same ambit. Why would we import the kind of language in question into the laws of this State? Why would we introduce provisions that we know have been misused and abused in the past? Sinn Féin tabled amendments in the Dáil that would have made it an offence for citizens of this State to join, train with or assist armed forces engaged in genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity. They would also have prevented such forces from recruiting in Ireland. That is not hypothetical. In 2024, The Ditch revealed that Israel Defense Forces personnel, along with personnel from 13 different countries, were trained at the Irish Military College between 2018 and 2024. Under our amendments, that would not have been permitted. Given the gravity of our concerns, we will vote against the Bill on Second Stage. As it stands, there are elements of it that are authoritarian, unnecessary and open to abuse, and we cannot and will not support legislation that undermines fundamental democratic rights in this State. --- 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/2026-06-23/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:05+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-23