Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-02
============================================================

Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

I thank all the Senators for their contributions. Senator McCormack asked why this is being done now. There really is no surprise in the Bill's introduction. It has been proposed for some time. It is designed to ensure that the system in place at present, based on regulations that are approximately 60 years old, is modernised. As I said earlier in respect of another provision within this miscellaneous provisions Bill, it is preferable that details in terms of the exercise of important powers are set out in primary legislation. The Defence Act 1954 contains a section dealing with aid to the civil power. However, it is generally the regulations made under that provision that specify the associated functions in terms of An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces.
Senator McCormack stated that the Bill includes a whole series of unrelated matters. That is the function of a miscellaneous provisions Bill. "Miscellaneous" means there are unrelated matters linked together. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, was very clear on Committee Stage in the Dáil that the purpose here is to set out in primary legislation, namely, the Defence Act, the circumstances under which An Garda Síochána or the Minister can request the assistance of the Defence Forces and-or the Minister for Defence in aid of the civil power in respect of work that is done by gardaí.
As I said on Committee Stage in this House, the annual report of the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces sets out the aid-to-civil-power operations. It provides all the detail as to the numbers of requests made by An Garda Síochána and the type of activity requested. There is nothing sinister or unusual about it. I gave the figure for the requests last year, and it was a significant number. The report that comes out on an annual basis specifies the type of assistance given, including Garda air support unit missions, Central Bank patrols, airport security duties, explosives production security, Central Bank security, prisoner escorts, explosive ordnance disposal call-outs, explosive materials escorts, Naval Service diving operations, cash-in-transit escorts, hospital security, VIP visit security, search operations, and Air Corps and Naval Service support. That information is available. It is not being hidden.
At present, the way it happens is that a C70 form is sent by An Garda Síochána to the Defence Forces in circumstances where gardaí need the assistance of the Defence Forces. I gave the example on Committee Stage of how the search for the missing remains of Mike Gaine required the Garda to seek the assistance of the Defence Forces. That was a perfect example of where such a request was necessary.
In respect of amendment No. 18 from Senator McCormack and her colleagues, it is acknowledged that the regulations are in need of modernisation. Those provisions have been there for more than 60 years. What is being proposed in the new section 40B of the Defence Act 1954 is that the new section will provide for substantive change to the current legislative framework under which members of the Defence Forces may be deployed in aid of the civil power. This is necessary to ensure the provisions are appropriately set out within the Defence Act for this important role of the Defence Forces. It is beneficial to the public and to the Oireachtas that it is set out clearly what will be proposed in the future.
Amendment No. 18 provides that "[n]othing in this Part shall be construed as conferring any new or additional power on the Minister to direct the deployment of members of the Defence Forces in aid of the civil power". I have given a list of examples of deployments. Obviously, circumstances will change. I am sure that 15 or 20 years ago, a huge number of the requests were for cash-in-transit escorts. In 2024, there were only five such requests. As time progresses, the nature of threats changes and the number of threats increases, the circumstances of requests will vary as well.
That is why it would be inappropriate to state in a piece of legislation that the Act shall not "be construed as conferring any new or additional power on the Minister to direct the deployment of members of the Defence Forces in aid of the civil power beyond those that exist apart from this Part". Those are powers that exist at present. There may be other circumstances where the Garda requires the assistance of the Defence Forces and it should not be precluded from seeking that assistance simply because there is provision in legislation which states a list of things that can be done, such as I have read out, but not go any further. I will not be accepting amendment No. 18.
I will turn to amendments Nos. 19 to 22, inclusive, in the names of Senators Higgins and Ruane. These amendments also relate to the amendments of the Defence Act as set out in Part 5, specifically section 40B to which I referred. The amendments relate to the publication of information relating to the aid of the civil power process. In that regard, statistical information in relation to the deployment of members of the Defence Forces in aid of the civil power is provided by the Department of Defence on an annual basis in the report to which I just referred. This report, which contains detailed information relating to the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces, is laid before the Houses of Oireachtas. All that information is there, setting out the details as to how many times the aid of civil power operations has been requested and granted, and is available to the Houses of the Oireachtas.
It is important to recall the definition of "aid of the civil power", which is set out in subsection (5) of the new section 40B. The definition refers to "assistance provided by the Defence Forces to An Garda Síochána under this section". This definition sets out the context in which deployments in aid of the civil power take place, which is that the requirement for assistance is identified by the Garda and a request is made for the assistance of the Defence Forces. The domestic internal security of the State is primarily the responsibility of my Department and the Garda. It is an operational matter, in the first instance, for the Garda to determine whether and in what context it would require assistance from the Defence Forces. The basis for the deployment of members of the Defence Forces in aid of the civil power is, therefore, clearly set out in the section and the question of the development and publication of guidelines in relation to deployment does not arise.
I will move to amendments Nos. 23 and 24 in the names of Sinn Féin Senators and Senator Keogan, respectively. They propose reviews of the operation of Part III of the Act. There is a requirement in the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann for a post-enactment report, and indeed in the Standing Orders of Seanad Éireann. What these amendments seek to do is to place a statutory obligation on the Minister for Defence to produce a report within a year and to come back before the House. As Senators know, there is already that requirement to put a post-enactment report together and that is to be done within 12 months. Amendment No. 23 would provide that the new Part IIIA would cease to have effect after three years unless a resolution approving its continuation was passed. I have already stated the purpose of the new Part III and these reasons will still be valid in three years' time.
I do not think we should be fearful about the fact that since the State was established, the Garda has requested, and the Defence Forces have provided, assistance in aid of the civil power. I believe everyone here thinks that should continue. All we are doing here is to put it on a statutory basis so the public and Oireachtas are aware of how these powers are operating, as opposed to the rather archaic system set out pursuant to the Defence Act from the 1950s.

---

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/2026-07-02/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:09+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-02