The majority of the committee agreed on the following main recommendations:
Repeal the existing Offences Against the State Acts and replace them with one consolidated item of legislation containing reforms of the existing statutory regime.
Internment: Retain the possibility of internment, which should not be ruled out as a matter of principle. If retained, only the minister for justice should be empowered to make the decision on interning an individual, and the general provision should be reviewed regularly.
Special Criminal Court: This court should be retained, subject to keeping it under regular review and ensuring that judges sitting on it are guaranteed tenure and independence.
Proscribed organisations: The government should continue to be able to proscribe illegal organisations, with the right to appeal to the High Court.
Membership of illegal organisations: This should continue to be an offence, as should rendering assistance to such an organisation. However, the majority considered that the opinion of a Garda superintendent alone should not be sufficient evidence to convict a person.
Arrest and detention: The gardaí should be placed under a statutory duty to release a suspect when it becomes clear there are no longer reasonable grounds for detention. The committee was evenly divided on whether the provisions to extend the time of detention from 48 to 72 hours should be retained.
Access to a solicitor: The committee was divided, and did not make any recommendation.
Right to silence: Section 52 of the 1939 Act, requiring a person to give an account of his movements, should be repealed. Inferences should only be drawn from a person's silence while during interrogation if the accused has had access to legal advice.