Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-20
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Mark Ward (SF), Dublin Mid-West

I will sleep well tonight knowing the Minister will not be coming after me for wearing my Easter lily. I also appreciate his assurance that my future attendance at any commemoration of our patriot dead will not be seen as a terrorist offence. However, he has not given me any assurance that future Ministers sitting in his seat will take the same stance. There is vagueness in the Bill that is open to interpretation. It does not give me any confidence whatsoever that this vagueness will not be interpreted by a different Minister, maybe from a different party, and used in a different way.
We are asking the Minister to delete the section on public provocation to commit terrorist offences because the definition is too vague. It is also subjective and open to abuse by future Ministers. I will continue to wear my lily and commemorate our patriot dead, and I accept the Minister's assurances of that. However, I want to know that future generations of Irish people will be able to do the same thing, and this Bill will not come after them.

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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