That is why I have left them in and the advice I have received is that they have been of assistance in achieving convictions. I am conscious of what Deputy Gannon has said and I want to allow a vote.

I thank Senator Crowe for raising this important matter. As he knows and as has stated, the primary purpose of the Garda vetting system is and always must be the protection of children and vulnerable adults. It is essential that parents, families, sporting organisations and charities can have confidence that appropriate safeguards are in place for those who undertake these positions in trust, whether it is coaching a children's sports team, working in a care home or working with people with disabilities. At the sam…

I am always loath to set a timeline because, inevitably, the whole focus centres on whether it is done by that time or not. As the Senator knows, it will take time to implement the necessary technical and legislative changes that I have mentioned. I assure him that work is ongoing to achieve the aim of a more streamlined vetting system. It has to go through the Department and we have to produce proposals in respect of a general scheme. It then has to go to the Attorney General's office for advice and, ultimately, t…

I am very pleased to be back in the Seanad for the second time today. I cannot, however, guarantee the same level of excitement that took place before my arrival. I am pleased to introduce the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill 2025 and I look forward to hearing the contributions from Senators. The Bill before the House amends the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Act 2023 and will provide the ability to utilise biometric analysis on a retrospective basis only. This technology is sometimes referre…

I thank all Senators for their contributions. I will try to deal with the issues they have raised. I agree with Senator Gallagher that one of the benefits of the Bill is that it will prevent gardaí having to spend hours ploughing through vast amounts of data or video footage. I saw that myself this time last year when I was in Store Street Garda station. At the time, a number of gardaí were spending hours going through video footage from the Dublin riots which had taken place in November 2023. There were trying to …

Thanks very much.

I thank Senators for the efficient and speedy way with which they progressed this legislation through the Upper House. As people in this House are aware, it is an extremely important piece of legislation, not just nationally, but, in many respects, internationally as well. The first important aspect of it is that the Omagh bombing was an appalling criminal act. It was probably the worst atrocity on the island during the Troubles. It was essential that this State and the United Kingdom seek to try to provide answers…

I thank Senator Ruane for her amendment. Before dealing with her amendment, I advise the committee of my intention to bring forward amendments on Report Stage. These will primarily provide for the repeal of existing overlapping statutory search warrant provisions to ensure alignment with the broader body of legislation. I also highlight that some amendments may be necessary to address technical drafting issues, as may be agreed between myself and the Attorney General's office for Part 5, concerning persons in Garda…

I thank Senator Sarah O'Reilly for tabling this amendment and I thank the other Senators for their contributions. Amendment No. 3 seeks to include within the definitions section of the Bill the definition for journalistic privilege. It is important to remember how this part of the legislation comes before the Houses of the Oireachtas because Senator O'Reilly's amendment, although it is in the definitions section, is to a large extent concerned with Part 3 of the Bill, which deals with the search of premises. The re…

I thank the three Senators for their contribution. I will deal with the issues they raised in order. Senator Ruane inquired about journalistic screening and how this will operate. It is worth pointing out how, in practical terms, this is going to arise. If a garda wants to search the premises of a well-known journalist under the new legislation, he or she will have to notify the District Court judge in advance that the premises is that of a journalist and the person he or she is seeking a search warrant for is a jo…

The guards.

We do not know at that stage that it is privileged. Nobody has asserted the privilege of it.

Somebody comes forward.

No. The guards are aware, if they are searching a journalist's house, they have to notify the district judge. If they get a search warrant they have no idea that there may be any journalistic privilege involved and the person who is searched says, "Hold on, I am a journalist and I assert journalistic privilege over this." If a person does that then there will be a procedure exercise, for the purpose of the court, looking at it.

The person is now asserting for the first time. A guard may not know every journalist in the country.

An individual could just assert that there is journalistic privilege here. If the person does that for the first time then there is a mechanism to assess that under the legislation.

I suggest that the Senator looks at the provisions contained in section 24. The ultimate determiner, or the person who will assess whether or not material contains journalistic privilege, will be the High Court. That is provided for. If somebody makes a valid claim that this is journalistic material, it cannot be searched. There is a statutory procedure for that to be assessed by the High Court.

There is a screening and that is the ultimate hearing. There is a privilege screening that can apply.

The warrant remains. There is only one warrant. In terms of the procedures set out here, a warrant is being applied for but what is contained within the legislation is a statutory mechanism to deal with an instance where the guards suspect that there may be privilege or where somebody, subsequently, asserts that there is privilege.

Yes.