NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish Pubs Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > News > The Irish Assembly plans its own investigative 'police force'

The Irish Assembly plans its own investigative 'police force'

CATHY HAYES,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Monday, October 24, 2011, 7:51 AM

Updated Monday, October 24, 2011, 9:04 AM

Larger Text

E-mail

17 Comments

Irish Assembly plans to create its' own police force' with to search homes and businesses, seize documents, computers and other materials, and have people arrested

Photo by AFP

The Irish Assembly has plans to create its' own police force' with investigators who will have the power to search homes and businesses, seize documents, computers and other materials, and have people arrested, reports The Daily Mail.

Investigators will be appointed by Dáil committees, who in turn will be able to appoint other investigators with the same powers.

These plans are contained in the draft of the General Scheme Of The Houses Of The Oireachtas (Powers Of Inquiry) Bill 2011 that will be enacted if Ireland votes 'yes' to the 30th Amendment in next Thursday's referendum.

"You could have an Oireachtas committee pursuing a line of inquiry that suited the government of the day – and these investigators would be reporting to a political person," warns Labour election candidate Oisín Quinn, a nephew of Education Minister Ruairi Quinn and a campaigner against the planned change.

--------------------

Irish pubs in crisis as one in eight have now closed down

News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

--------------------

"They could go into the office of a newspaper and take laptops and what could be done about it? They don't need a warrant, your permission or the permission of the person at the front desk.

"We have had in the past a government that deliberately tapped the phones of journalists. We have had TDs who have gone to prison for corruption.

"It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that in the future there would be a configuration of government whereby an inquiry would be used to try to damage an opponent. The great fear is that these would be used as a political weapon."

Concerns are now being raised about the proposed inquiries.

"I can see some politicians imagining themselves as starring in their own detective stories and carrying out these major investigations," said former minister Mary O'Rourke.

"It is much too far-ranging without any precautions, and is fraught with potential danger. There are too many sweeping powers and far too little thought has gone in to it."

Investigators would only be obliged to supply their personal Oireachtas warrant, which would grant extensive search powers. They would require no evidence, only "reasonable grounds to believe there are any documents, or there is information in any form, relating to any matter within the terms of reference for the inquiry."

1 2 Next page >

Nster.com

E-mail

17 Comments

See all comments

merefalow | Nov 08, 2011, 02:51 PM EST

scary,kbg stuff,resist it strongly..

Report abuse

seanomelbourne | Oct 28, 2011, 05:59 PM EDT

Are you retirng hurt and wounded?

Report abuse

Towngate | Oct 28, 2011, 04:43 AM EDT

Oh, saddo Seaneen, you have just squandered the last bit of respect I had for you by displaying the paucity and failure of your argument by descending into naked Racism! Just consider your:- " ...convinces me again to accuse you of not being Irish..." and "...you have not denied the allegation..." . Listen to your warped and dangerous racist view,Sean,and weep. You are an insult to Irishmen everywhere; but mainly a disgrace to yourself! Your 'acusation' will never be resolved by me, so don't bother to come knocking again, as the disappointed Towngate is firmly closed against you. Slán!

Report abuse

seanomelbourne | Oct 27, 2011, 06:49 PM EDT

He was correct in not trusting the brits on home rule you seem to forget the "Curragh mutiny" when Churchill preached sedition and begged the "British officer class" to mutiny(which they did) thus killing the home rule bill.How selective is your memory!!!.Connolly was executed alongside his comrades for the part he played in the "rising".Your twisted pro British view of Irish history convinces me again to accuse you of not been Irish at all.I find it puzzling you have not denied the allegation even though I have made the accusation a number of times.

Report abuse

Towngate | Oct 27, 2011, 06:12 AM EDT

>>No doubt emboldened by his comfortable residence in Robert Emmets Country House and Estate - with which I am intimately acquainted - he actually thought, that by colluding traitorously with his Governments enemy, Germany, he could actually seize the Country for himself - knowing as a Barrister that the Irish Home Rule Bill was already passed and when Enacted, his chance would be gone! The advice from his cronies and also from his politically opposed James Connolly to 'call it off'. The fact he insisted on Eastertime is the most revealing of all. Pearse was a visionary, a persuasive leader, a racist, a traitor,a facist, a fantasist, and without national or much local - and no attempt to obtain a democratic mandate, he rode alone on his bicycle down the avenue and out the gates of St Enda's to meet his certain death. That took some courage.You have to admire him for that!

Report abuse

Towngate | Oct 27, 2011, 06:10 AM EDT

Seano: You are one of a few commenters on here that I respect enough to respond directly to, and I enjoy engaging in a bit of banter with you. So it is as a sort of pen-pal that I say we are all allowed to have a 'bee in our bonnet' about something. You know what yours are and I know mine. Allow me to work gently through your comments ..."post pulled again" - please explain this. ~ You mislead yourself by assuming I referred to Organised Facism ala Moseley and Moussoini, etc., when I was referring to the existance of the natural state of fascism contained in the profound human condition. Pearse is obviously a real pet hero of yours and you seem hurt and challenged by any relevation which seems to contradict your cosy notion of him. I do not have a 'M.O' to discredit him - quite the opposite,actually! - and I feel your appreciation of him would be all the greater and healthier if you were realistic about the man himself and what he thought he could achieve if he could just impose his version of a Gael-ic culture on the place.There is plenty of evidence in his writings to suggest that Ireland would be just wonderful if only it would do exactly as he wanted - and no other way! That's fascism! (more...)

Report abuse

seanomelbourne | Oct 26, 2011, 07:41 PM EDT

post pulled again.Your innappropiate use of "Fasicst" is amusing as Facsism raised it's ugly head years after Pearce's death.Your modus operandi seems to be a smear campaign rather than an honest debate.I have never had the pleasure of an"Irishman"denigrate Pearce with such venom.Your "Irishness" is questionable,as I stated before maybe you're not Irish.Most people recognise pearces committment to a democratic Ireland shame on you towngate. Maybe you should stand under "traitors gate" in Dublin and ponder your peurile remarks(that is if you know where traitors gate is.

Report abuse

Towngate | Oct 25, 2011, 04:02 AM EDT

There is no irrreverence or hate in my post,Seano. Just a factual observation which seems to have hit a nerve. I expect,like me,you have read every single word Pearse ever wrote and have drawn your own intellectual conclusions free from the romantic delusional inclination to create a patriotic hero where none exists! Remind yourself that Pearse got his guns and was promised gold bullion from Facist Germany and was colluding with them against the democratically elected Government of his own people. No doubt today he would be happy to get some more from North Korea. To see an army in Volunteer Sea-green uniforms goose-stepping over the horizon would have gladdened his heart! If only a few like that had turned up that Easter Monday, something useful might have come of his ill-concieved adventure which only led to so many pointless deaths. Remember,too,he was a Barrister by profession and training and might have revelled in just this kind of inhuman Legislation that the Law Lackeys are proposing!

Report abuse

seanomelbourne | Oct 24, 2011, 05:32 PM EDT

The irreverence to Pearse is a hate post.Pearse signed the proclamation maybe clowngate should read it and weep.

Report abuse

oldboreen | Oct 24, 2011, 04:18 PM EDT

Towngate pal, I have the perfect place for you-er, North Korea?

Report abuse

Springfield9 | Oct 24, 2011, 03:15 PM EDT

Ah, another Police Force. Just when I thought we might get more Ballerinas we get THUGS.

Report abuse

LoyalCitizen | Oct 24, 2011, 03:08 PM EDT

@johnymac60: You need to read up on the financial system leading up to 9/11. Money is the greatest influence to any form of traitor and only traitors are doing harm.

Report abuse

sirpeter | Oct 24, 2011, 03:03 PM EDT

The Bilgegate is open I see.*Spew!!

Report abuse

johnymac60 | Oct 24, 2011, 12:40 PM EDT

@LoyalCitizen, true true. Don't forget the time that the Americans painted red circles on airplanes and bombed lovely Pearl Harbor, so they could test their Atom Bomb and steal the Japanese oil. Doh!

Report abuse

ancavker | Oct 24, 2011, 12:10 PM EDT

Towngate: Please give it a rest already, with your same tired not to mention wrong old drivel.

Report abuse