A Government backbencher and barrister has expressed concern about some of the extensive powers in the Criminal Justice Bill, introduced earlier this week by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell.
Mr Barry Andrews (FF, Dún Laoghaire) voiced his disquiet about the constitutionality of some aspects of the Bill, including the provision for the admissibility of statements by witnesses who subsequently refuse to testify or retract their original statements; the right to obtain some body samples such as saliva without permission from a suspect; and an increase in detention times from 12 to 24 hours.
Expressing his concern about the admissibility of witness statements from people who subsequently retract their statements, he said the legislation arose from the collapse of the Keane murder trial in Limerick "and it concerns me that the Minister declared he would introduce this kind of legislation only four days later".
He added: "Given that the rules of evidence have developed over a century, that we should decide after four days' deliberation to turn some basic rules on their head is worrying."
The Minister's decision to include this provision arose from a Canadian Supreme Court decision, and Canadian common law, but why had the issue never come before the Irish Supreme Court? he asked.
Fine Gael's justice spokesman, Mr Jim O'Keeffe, said it was "pretty outrageous" that the Dáil was debating issues that might or might not be in the Bill.
He accused the Minister of attempting to circumvent the legislative process because he had plans to "amend heavily" the Bill before the House and was considering adding up to 11 other provisions, including electronic tagging.
Mr O'Keeffe also called for a separate firearms Bill and said there was a major reaction in rural areas that the storage of weapons was being dealt with in a criminal justice Bill, because "ordinary, decent firearms-holders" were not the problem.
Labour opposed the Criminal Justice Bill, and its spokesman, Mr Joe Costello, said it contained "severe measures which will have fundamental and far-reaching implications in many respects, not least in the area of civil liberties".
Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Sinn Féin's justice spokesman, described the Bill as "draconian" and added that some of the Minister's proposals might violate constitutional rights and European and international law.
Speaking in Irish, the Dublin South Central TD said the Bill significantly extended Garda powers including the issuing of search warrants.
The debate was adjourned.
