Law « Thurles Information

Draft Bill Published To Protect National Security & Tackle Serious Crime.

New mechanisms to retain data to protect national security and tackle serious crime under draft Bill published by Minister McEntee.

Mechanism for general retention of data for purposes of national security
Preservation and Access to specified data for both security and law enforcement
Minister McEntee clear that Gardaí must not have their hands tied behind their backs

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has today published the General Scheme for the Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Bill 2022.

The General Scheme provides that general and indiscriminate retention of communications traffic and location data can only be permitted on national security grounds, where approved by a designated judge.

In addition, the General Scheme provides for a system of preservation and production orders to facilitate preservation of and access to specified communications data held by service providers for both national security and for the investigation of serious crime, where permitted by an authorising judge.

A preservation order will act as a “quick freeze” requiring service providers to retain any specified data they hold at a particular point in time for a period.

A production order will allow access to specified data held by a service provider for commercial or other reasons, where such access is necessary for national security or law enforcement purposes. The effect of a production order will be that a service provider must immediately take steps to produce and hand over to the relevant state agency the data described in the order made by an authorised judge.

Both traffic and location data retained for national security purposes and subscriber data, retained for national security or law enforcement purposes, will be retained for 12 months.

The General Scheme is consistent with European Court of Justice rulings in this area.

The Minister stated: “As I stated last month when I received Cabinet permission to draft this legislation, it is vital that we do not have a situation where An Garda Síochána have their hands tied behind their backs and Gardaí must be fully equipped with strong laws and modern technology.

There should always be safeguards and protections when it comes to accessing data, but we must not allow the balance to shift too far away from keeping people safe and fighting crime and the Government is taking urgent action to ensure that the appropriate legislation is in place.

It is my intention, with the assistance of the Attorney General and his officials, to return to Government next week seeking approval to publish the Bill. This urgency is unavoidable given the need for legal certainty for communications service providers and state agencies on what obligations apply to the retention of communications data, which is vital for law enforcement and national security.

In addition to this urgent Bill, I intend to bring forward a more comprehensive proposal later in the year to address wider reforms and a more consolidated legal framework in this area”.

Two Unidentified Bodies Located In South Tipperary.

A garda investigation is under way, this afternoon, following the discovery of two bodies, that of an elderly man and an elderly woman, at a private residence in a house in south Co. Tipperary.
As of yet, there is no established cause of death, however it is also understood there is no indication of any visible foul play, as of this time.

Following locals having raised certain concerns, the bodies were located by investigating Gardaí in a house 3.5km from the village of Cloneen, situated between Fethard and Mullinahone, close to the Tipperary-Kilkenny border, shortly before 4:00pm this evening.

It is understood that the bodies may have lain undiscovered at that location for some time, possibly several weeks.

A formal identification has yet to be carried out on the remains, however Gardaí believe they are those of a couple aged in their 70s.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau are due to perform a forensic examination of the scene, while the office of the State pathologist has also been informed. Tomorrow, the bodies are expected to be removed to University Hospital Waterford (UHW) for a full post mortem examination

Gardaí at Clonmel are leading the investigation.

950 Persons To Be Conferred With Irish Citizenship.

The first in-person Citizenship Ceremonies in over two years will be held on Monday, June 20th 2022, in the INEC Arena, Gleneagle Hotel, Muckross Road, Killarney, Co. Kerry.

The ceremonies will be held at 11.00am and 1.30pm with registration for the first ceremony beginning at 10:00am and the second ceremony at 12.30pm on Monday, of the aforementioned date.

Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee TD, together with retired High Court judge Mr Bryan MacMahon and retired District Court judge Mr Paddy McMahon will be presiding over the ceremonies and conferring Irish citizenship on an expected 950 people.

Ireland is a sovereign, independent country and has rules and laws about who is entitled to Irish citizenship.

Most Irish citizens were automatically Irish when they were born. Before January 1st 2005, everyone born on the island of Ireland was an Irish citizen by birth. However, following an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland, citizenship by birth is now no longer an automatic entitlement to everyone born on the island of Ireland.

If you are born abroad, you are entitled to Irish citizenship if your parent was born in Ireland. If your grandparents were born in Ireland, you may also be able to claim citizenship through the Foreign Births Register.

Residents of Ireland who have come from abroad can apply to become Irish citizens, through naturalisation.

Citizens of Ireland are also EU citizens, which means that they can live, work and study in any other EU member state.

Alleged €2m Fraud At Richard Quirke’s Dublin Casino & Arcade.

An alleged €2m fraud has been uncovered at the company that wields control of the arcade and casino business, known as Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.

This disclosure is contained in new consolidated accounts for Dublin Pool and Juke Box Ltd, which reveals the alleged misappropriation of funds totalled €1.009m in 2018 and €1.017m in 2019.

The business is owned by “slot-machine tycoon”, 75-year-old, Mr Richard Quirke, father in law of Rosanna Davison, latter an Irish actress, singer, writer, model and beauty queen, who was crowned Miss World back in 2003.

Our readers will remember that Mr Quirke had, back in 2009, been associated with a €460 million plan, which was promoted by Tipperary Independent TD, Mr Michael Lowry.
The plan back then was to build a massive entertainment facility which was to include a five-star 500-bedroom hotel; casino; full-size replica of the White House; an underground entertainment centre seating 15,000 people; 18-hole golf course; driving range; retail outlets; timber chapel, heliport; 6,000 car spaces; new racecourse for horses and a new greyhound track on a 325 hectare (800-acre) site, close to the village of Two-Mile-Borris, Thurles, Co Tipperary.

In December 2009, An Taisce, objecting to the plan through their heritage officer Mr Ian Lumley, suggesting that this plan was based on a “Failed International Development Model”.
Eventually, the planning body gave the casino the go-ahead in June 2011, refusing permission for the 15,000-seater “underground” music venue. However, same ran into trouble again, almost immediately, following the government announcing plans to overhaul Ireland’s gambling laws, thus blocking large, resort-style casinos.

The original planning application for this development, expired in 2018, but the developer applied for (and was granted) an extension in February 2018 (due to expire in March 2023).

To date, Mr Quirke is understood to have built up a sizeable fortune from his Dublin based casino business, with most of the company’s wealth concentrated in property.

Cabinet Approval Granted To Draft Legislation On Jury For Stardust Inquests.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee has today received Government approval to draft legislative amendments to put in place bespoke supports for jury selection and summoning in the Stardust inquests.

Readers will remember, in 1981, the tragic fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, north Co. Dublin, which resulted sadly in the death of 48 people and left some 214 persons injured.

The ages of those who were killed in the fire ranged from 16 to 26, and in 23 cases the deceased were the eldest and sole breadwinner for their families. Most of the dead came from Artane, Kilmore and greater Coolock, and half of the deceased were aged 18 years or younger, with four of the victims aged 16 years and eight aged 17 years.

It is intended that the legislation will be passed before the summer recess and enacted quickly, enabling the Coroner to commence the inquests in line with her proposed timeframe.

This will allow the Dublin Coroner to seek the assistance of the Courts Service in selecting a jury for the Stardust inquests and will allow the jury selection process to operate in a similar way to that civil and criminal court proceedings.

The legislation will also ensure that employers will continue to pay the wages of people summoned to serve on the Stardust inquests jury, similar to provisions for criminal and civil trial juries.

These supports are being provided for by the Minister to address the concerns raised by victims’ families, in recognition that the inquests may span a number of months, while also conscious of the principles underpinning jury service as a civic duty that must be carried out with impartiality and fairness.

These special jury provisions will apply only to the Stardust inquests given the extraordinary circumstances.

The Minister intends that all matters pertaining to coronial law will be considered in the review currently underway in her Department as set out in the Justice Plan 2022.

Following the Cabinet meeting, Minister McEntee said:

“The Government’s decision today allows for the urgent drafting of special provisions relating to the selection and summoning of jurors for the new Stardust Inquests.
In this regard, the Dublin Coroner will be entitled to request the assistance of the Courts Service in selecting and summoning a jury by ballot drawn from the Electoral Register.
I had promised to address the concerns raised, particularly by representatives of the Stardust victims’ families, with regard to the empanelling of a representative jury.
As the Stardust Inquests are anticipated to take some considerable time compared to other inquests, I am also making provision that employers would be required to pay the wages of employees summoned to serve on the Stardust Inquests jury”.