Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-25
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Robbie Gallagher (FF), Labour Panel

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit ar maidin. The Minister of State is very welcome back to the House to discuss this very important piece of business. As she outlined, the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 was enacted in the aftermath of the Omagh bombing in order to strengthen the State's response to terrorism. Certain provisions of that Act are, as the Minister of State outlined, subject to renewal annually. They will expire on 30 June next unless approved by this House and the Lower House. The Government considers that there remains a real and persistent threat from dissident republican groups, as well as from those involved in violent extremism and international terrorism. In light of these ongoing threats, it is necessary to maintain the availability of these powers.
In May of last year, the Minister informed Government colleagues that he accepts in principle the recommendations of the majority report of the independent review of the Offences against the State Acts. Given the importance of the Acts over many decades, any proposals for reform must be thoroughly considered and approached with the utmost care. The Minister has indicated that he will return to the Government with detailed proposals in due course. I certainly look forward to that.
In the meantime, the renewal of the relevant provisions ensures that essential counterterrorism measures remain will remain in place. Accordingly, the Government is seeking approval from this House for both measures to be continued. In layperson's language, any responsible Government that is getting information from the Garda that there remains a credible threat to the State would be irresponsible if it did not take that advice on board. For that reason, I am very happy to allow these measures to continue in force for a further period.

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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