Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-25 ============================================================ Catherine Ardagh (FF), Dublin South-Central The two motions before the House seek the approval of Seanad Éireann to continue in force provisions in the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 aimed at combating terrorism and organised crime. Given the nature of these important provisions, the Houses of the Oireachtas has decided that they should be periodically reviewed. The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs, and Migration, is required to lay reports before the Oireachtas on the use of the relevant provisions in the two Acts, and reports covering the 12 months up to 31 May 2026 were placed in the Oireachtas Library on 19 June. Senators will be aware that the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 was enacted in the aftermath of the Omagh bombing in August 1998. This was a necessary and proportionate response to an atrocious and barbaric act and the murder of 29 innocent people by the Real IRA. These provisions of the criminal law provide strong legislative powers to ensure that the Garda and the courts are in a position to meet the challenge laid down by those opponents of peace. Section 18 of the 1998 Act provides that sections 2 to 4, 6 to 12, 14 and 17 must be renewed by the Oireachtas at least annually if they are to remain in force. The report laid before this House includes information provided by the Garda Commissioner on the use of the provisions in question over the past 12 months and a table setting out usage figures for each of the years since the Act came into operation. It is clear that so called dissident republicans, who have their origins in the Provisional IRA and INLA, continue to represent a threat. Despite the progress towards peace made over the years, they continue to seek to return to the fruitless violence of the past, as evidenced by two recent attempted attacks on police stations in Lurgan, County Armagh and Dunmurry, just outside Belfast. These groups have remained resolute in their opposition to democracy and rule of law and all that the Good Friday Agreement stands for, and they remain wedded to brutality and criminality. It is well established that they have links to and operate hand in hand with organised criminals. There is no cause for complacency in countering the threat posed by these organisations. North-South co-operation in this area is crucial. Co-operation between gardaí and their counterparts in Northern Ireland is strong. Indeed, it is automatic when needed most. In recent years, the benefits of that co-operation have been apparent from successful joint operations between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI. The joint Cross Border Policing Strategy 2025-2027 provides a platform for An Garda Síochána and the PSNI to build on existing strategic and operational collaboration and strengthen policing capacity and capability. I pay tribute to the gardaí and PSNI officers who continue to co-operate closely and work tirelessly together to keep their communities safe and to counter all threats from terrorism. It is our duty to ensure that those tasked with protecting us from this threat have at their disposal the appropriate measures to meet it. In that regard, I am firmly of the view that the provisions I am seeking renewal of today are necessary to support An Garda Síochána in investigating, disrupting and dismantling the activities of terrorists. In addition to providing information on the use of the provisions in question over the past year, the report laid before this House notes the clear view of the Garda Commissioner that the Act continues to be an important tool in ongoing efforts to combat terrorism. While the 1998 Act was a response to a domestic threat arising from dissident republican terrorism, as an open democracy it is very important that we do not lose sight of the threat from violent extremism and international terrorism. There has generally been a deterioration in the international security landscape in recent times, in part due to the terrible wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East. Europol, in its most recent terrorism situation and trend report (2025), sets out the threat situation at EU level. The report confirms that terrorism, particularly jihadist and lone actor attacks, remains a key threat to the EU’s internal security. Last year, the EU published its internal security strategy, ProtectEU. The strategy notes the changed security environment and evolving geopolitical landscape, where the links between the EU’s internal and external security require more action against the range of threats faced, including hybrid threats by hostile foreign states and state-sponsored actors, powerful organised crime networks, the ongoing threat faced from terrorism, technological advancements and more. Ireland is not immune from the threats arising in this changed security environment and must have the capability to deal with the threats arising. Building on ProtectEU, in February 2026 the EU published its agenda to prevent and counter terrorism and online extremism, which reinforces Europe's collective response to evolving terrorist and violent extremist threats. The views of An Garda Síochána are clearly set out in the report, and they are that the continued operation of these provisions is required. In the meantime, as set out in the two reports laid before the House, it is the clear view of An Garda Síochána that the provisions of the 1998 and 2009 Acts continue to be necessary and effective in ongoing efforts in the fight against terrorism and serious organised crime. On the basis of the information set out in the reports and on the advice of the Garda authorities, I propose that the House should approve the continued operation of the relevant provisions of the 1998 and 2009 Acts for a further 12 months, commencing on 30 June 2026. --- 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/2026-06-25/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:07+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-25