Criminal Justice (International Cooperation on Electronic Evidence and Other Matters) Bill 2026: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-07
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Chris Andrews (SF), Labour Panel

I move amendment No. 1:
In page 10, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following:
“8. The Minister, having consulted with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, may by regulation direct that the Director suspend cooperation, in part or in full, with a state in breach of—
(a) the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation, or
(b) Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union,
or whereby cooperation would place Ireland in breach of Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union.”.
We have seen in the past where democratic backsliding has occurred in EU member states, most notably Hungary, in terms of the rule of law and interference with the courts. There needs to be a mechanism available to Ireland which ensures that, where appropriate and necessary, we can suspend co-operation with the consent of the Ministers for justice and foreign affairs. Amendment No. 1 would introduce such a mechanism and prevent Ireland from being locked into agreements with states from which we diverge in regard to the rule of law and human rights. A case in point is that Ireland is currently stuck in the EU-Israel Association Agreement, seemingly without recourse and blocked from taking any action by other member states. We should not have signed up to that agreement. I hope we all agree that signing the agreement was a mistake. We have no ability to unilaterally leave it. We should avoid locking future Governments into that sort of position.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-07/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:09+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-07