Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages Dail Éireann — 2026-05-20 ============================================================ Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South I thank Deputy Ward for moving his amendment. As he indicated at the outset, we are dealing with group 1, which comprises amendments Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, and amendments Nos. 11 to 14, inclusive. As Deputy Ward indicated, they are all in respect of issues associated with crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. Deputy Ward is being specific about saying these amendments are focused on the IDF. I have to point out, as I did on Committee Stage, that this legislation is about transposing the 2017 terrorist offences directive from the EU into Irish law and the way we are doing that is by updating and amending the (Criminal Justice) Terrorist Offences Act 2005 that has been in place for the past 20 years or so. Very many of the legitimate concerns Deputy Ward has identified in moving his amendment are dealt with in Irish law and legislation under the International Criminal Court Act 2006. In that legislation, we set out that in Ireland crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide are criminal offences. It is important that the world is aware that in Ireland you can be prosecuted for those crimes. It is also the case in Ireland, because of the Criminal Law Act 1997, that if you aid or abet crimes against humanity, genocide, or war crimes you are committing a criminal offence in Ireland. It is important to emphasise for anyone listening in that in Ireland we have a body of laws that deal with crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes and they are dealt with in our International Criminal Court legislation. What Deputy Ward is seeking to do, through his amendment, is move into this terrorist offences legislation with similar types of prohibitions. However, I think it is important that we keep a distinction between the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and, separately, the crime of terrorist activity. It may be from the point of view of presentation that Deputy Ward wishes, and he is entitled to say this, that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are forms of terrorism but legally, in our criminal justice system, it is important we distinguish between both of them. Looking at the amendments that have been tabled by Deputy Ward, amendment No. 1 provides an interpretation of the three matters: crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. That is already provided for in the International Criminal Court Act 2006. Amendments Nos. 2 to 6, inclusive, and amendment No. 8 provide for new terms to be included as part of the definition of "terrorist-linked activity" in the definitions section of the principal Act. These new terms are further defined in expanded definitions to be inserted as proposed amendments Nos. 11 to 14, inclusive. It is appropriate that we are debating all of the amendments together and that I respond to them all together because, combined, they create new terrorist offences within the engaging in terrorist-linked activity offence. The effect is to criminalise as terrorism travel, organising travel, providing training, receiving training and recruitment for the purposes of serving in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes and crimes against humanity or genocide. As I explained on Committee Stage, I understand the intention behind these amendments. I know what their purpose is. The principal Act does exclude, however, the activities of armed forces during an armed conflict and in the exercise of their official duties from being categorised as being terrorist offences. That was a requirement of the underlying original EU measure underpinning the legislation. That same requirement remains within the 2017 EU directive we are transposing here. I want to emphasise, as I did at the outset, that a commitment to the rule of international law is enshrined in our Constitution and is enshrined in the International Criminal Court Act 2006, where we have expressly stated that genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are very serious criminal offences. We know that if you are aiding and abetting them, that is a criminal offence as well. This is one of the core principles of Irish law and foreign policy and includes both customary international law and international agreements. The Genocide Convention and the Geneva Convention are international agreements to which Ireland is party and to which we have given effect in our legislation. When we look at the specific offences of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, they derive from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and from being transposed in the 2006 Act. It enables punishment by the Irish courts for breaches of international law that fall within the jurisdiction of that court. Aiding and abetting under the 1997 Act is also a criminal offence and that similarly can be prosecuted. I note the sincerity with which Deputy Ward puts forward his concern about what is happening in Gaza. I share very many of his concerns. In Ireland, we have repeatedly stated that the behaviour of the IDF is reprehensible and is criminal, and they are committing crimes against humanity. I have to say, however, in terms of the criticism of the Irish Government, no government in Europe has done as much as the Irish Government when it comes to standing up for the Palestinian people. You can see that in terms of the anger that is directed towards the Irish Government by the Israeli Government. There is a reason for that and the reason is because the Irish Government has very much stood against the heinous activities that have been going on within Gaza. I also want to deal with a final point that Deputy Ward raised, which was the Irish citizens who have been detained in Israel. I, along with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste call for those Irish citizens to be released immediately. --- 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/dail/2026-05-20/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:47+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-20