I have no further comment to make.

I thank Senator McDowell. I think the point is well made and we will discuss it further with the Department.

I thank the Senator. I do recall the coverage at the time in relation to that incident. I think it was a Muslim lady who was involved. While I understand the concerns reflected in this amendment, sections 9 and 10 already establish a robust statutory threshold of reasonable grounds for suspicion. This threshold precludes treating personal traits like age, race or clothing style as independently constituting reasonable grounds, as such reliance would be discriminatory and unconstitutional. The amendment also poses o…

I appreciate the sensitivities of the situation the amendment seeks to address in relation to that particular incident. I think it was one lady at the time. Under sections 9 and 10, a Garda member must have reasonable grounds to search a person or vehicle. The Bill already provides that gardaí will require a person to attend a Garda custody facility for the purposes of a search of the nature that the amendment describes. Once a person enters a Garda station, the member in charge is responsible for their welfare and…

The threat of a cavity search should never be used to intimidate or cause psychological harm. An Garda Síochána has strict guidelines and rules on how intimate searches are to be conducted. They can never be conducted in a public space; it always has to be done in a private setting. Depending on the particular power the Garda is using, searches should only be carried out where necessary and cannot be used for harassment. It they are ever used for harassment, that should be reported to the ombudsman. On the figures …

These are technical amendments. Amendment No. 21 is intended to correct a cross-reference in section 11(3). Amendment No. 23 will refine the wording in section 13 by deleting “, in accordance with this section,”. Amendment No. 29 makes a technical change to section 14: “Subject to this section, when” will be replaced by “When”. Amendment No. 48 amends section 25. It is a technical change to delete “made” and substitute “given” for consistency with section 25(2). Amendment No. 50 amends section 29 by deleting “to gi…

Obviously there are serious consequences. Regarding subsection (c), the proposed requirement for a mandatory non-compliance warning is unnecessary because under section 12, the legal requirement for a notice is satisfied. When the Garda states the precise statute power authorising the search, this establishes its compulsory nature. Mandating an additional explicit warning regarding criminal prosecution serves no practical legal purpose. Instead it risks unnecessarily complicating a standard procedure that is alread…

Translation technology is not as expensive as it used to be. Many gardaí by their own volition use their phones to reach out to people in that way but it is something we will consider.

There is one Government amendment in this grouping, which is amendment No. 25. It intends to make the language in section 13(2)(e) more precise on the basis that something seized will not be evidence relating to the commission of an offence but suspected of being such evidence. I will speak on all four amendments together. It is fair to say that in every walk of life, whether we are medics, politicians or gardaí, a subconscious bias comes into play. If you do not measure it, we cannot fix it. That is part of the co…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as ucht a chomhghairdeas. On the proposal of a unique identifier, we know from section 13 that those who are stopped and searched will have their dates of birth, names and addresses gathered. The proposal as it is at the moment is that that information would be matched not by An Garda Síochána, but via PPSNs by the CSO, to get anonymised data on ethnicity, race and nationality. We know that the CSO is a trusted research provider of criminal justice statistics and informs policy. I…

Just to be clear, the CSO will not be trawling through PULSE. The Garda will be sending this information to the CSO. That is just what is included in section 13 - date of birth, name and address-----

The person's gender and the geographic location of the stop are collected on the PULSE system. The name, address, date of birth, geographic location and gender are noted on the PULSE system at this point.

No.

I will come back to the Senator.

In the very beginning of my contribution I did lay out that the argument for recording ethnicity in stop and search encounters is very much recognised by the Department. The proposal that I outlined is at this point a proposal. It is something the Department would like to consider. I have listened and I have read back on the debates. It is something that will be thought out, with the advices of the Attorney General and with the input of the CSO. At this stage I have nothing further to add.

I thank the Minister for introducing this legislation. I welcome the opportunity to speak on what will be called the Insurance (Disregard of Certain Medical History and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026, which many people across Ireland know simply as the "right to be forgotten" legislation. Tonight is a very important night for cancer survivors and their families. This legislation is about fairness, dignity and recognising that somebody who has survived cancer, completed treatment and rebuilt his or her life sho…

I previously introduced right-to-be-forgotten legislation as a Private Members' Bill. The Central Bank (Amendment) Bill was adopted by the Government and obviously was part of the programme for Government. However, we are still waiting on the Government amendments so that legislation can be progressed to Committee Stage. So many cancer survivors are waiting for this legislation to give them certainty, especially when seeking to buy a home. The right-to-be-forgotten legislation allows cancer survivors to move on fro…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for the establishment and regulation of Life Annuity agreements for homeowners, to provide for consumer protections, and to provide for related matters. This Private Members' Bill comes from a very practical place. It comes from my work as a public representative and a solicitor dealing with people who are trying to navigate their financial situation later in life at a time when they are arguably vulnerable and should be able to enjoy thos…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. CSO data show that one-parent families make up around one in four families nationally but this rises to over one in three in Dublin city. These households, predominantly led by women, are far more exposed to deprivation and lower incomes. In areas like Dublin South-Central, where disadvantage is more concentrated, what targeted measures will be introduced to specifically support lone-parent families and reduce child poverty?