This Bill was circulated over two months ago, and on its introduction, on Second Reading and on Committee Stage, there was considerable discussion and publicity. For that reason I assume that Senators are familiar with its provisions. I propose, however, to give a short outline of its provisions. The Bill is intended to provide, in a comprehensive statute, the necessary powers to enable the State to protect itself and its citizens, to assist it in the prevention, detection, conviction and punishment of offences against the State. These offences range over a wide field, from the usurpation and obstruction of the powers of the Government, the Oireachtas, the judiciary, the defence forces, and the Gárda Síochána, to the publication of seditious matter and the holding of meetings by unlawful organisations.
The Bill, as Senators will note, is divided into six parts. The first four parts are intended to become portion of the ordinary normal law of the country and the other two portions, Parts V and VI, are intended to be emergency provisions. Part I deals mainly with definitions. Part II is intended to replace the existing law as regards offences which are directed against the security of the State, the carrying on of the work of the Government and public order generally, with certain additions and such changes as are necessary in view of the altered constitutional position. Part III is concerned with a particular aspect of offences dealt with under Part II, that is, unlawful organisations. Provisions are made, in general, similar to those which were in operation in some recent years in connection with the same matter, but it will be noted that there is given, under this Part of the Bill, a right of appeal to the High Court from an Order made by the Government—described in the Bill as a Suppression Order—declaring any particular organisation to be unlawful. It gives power to close premises used by unlawful organisations, but gives a right of appeal to the High Court against these closing orders. Part IV confers on the police certain powers of search and arrest which are regarded as indispensable in the exceptional circumstances or cases with which they will have to deal. This Part of the Bill also provides for the prevention of the holding of meetings by unlawful organisations, and it also deals with what was dealt with in a previous Act, the prevention of meetings in the vicinity of the Oireachtas, by giving notice.
Part V, which is one of the two emergency Parts, provides for the setting up of special criminal courts when the Government are satisfied that the ordinary courts are inadequate, and that they are unable to have justice done by those courts. As Senators are aware, provision for the setting up of such courts was made in the Constitution, under, I think, Article 38. In connection with these special criminal courts, I might point out that they will be set up only in an emergency, when the Government are satisfied that the ordinary courts are inadequate. While these courts are in operation, the ordinary courts will have the same jurisdiction as they had at the time of the setting up of the special criminal courts.
The special criminal courts will be subject to the same procedure and to the same laws of evidence as the ordinary courts, and they will deal with certain offences which will be scheduled, those offences which we are satisfied cannot be dealt with by the ordinary courts. Also, the Attorney-General may certify that certain other cases cannot be dealt with by the ordinary courts, and these may be transferred to the special criminal courts. An amendment was submitted in the Dáil, and accepted, which provided for an appeal from these courts to the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Part VI provides for internment. That Part will come into operation, again, only when the Government are satisfied that such an emergency exists as warrants it. A position may exist in which, while we are satisfied that persons are guilty of certain offences subversive of the State, offences against the security of the State, we may not have available the legal proof which would enable us to deal with those people. The method by which both these Parts of the Bill will be brought into operation is by a proclamation issued by the Government declaring that either Part is necessary, and that proclamation will certify that such an emergency exists. The Dáil can annul that by a vote at any time, and if the Dáil has not annulled it, the Government, when they are satisfied that the emergency has come to an end, can, similarly by proclamation, bring it to an end.
As Senators are aware, the Bill, as it comes before the Seanad, is a very different Bill from that originally introduced in the Dáil. I stated at the time, on the Second Reading, that I was prepared if the principle of the Bill was accepted, to go to any reasonable limits to try to meet points that might be raised by Deputies; provided that whatever points might be raised or whatever improvements or remedies might be suggested would not render the Bill ineffective. I come to the Seanad in the same way. If the Seanad desires to admit the principle of this Bill at this stage—again, I am prepared, so far as is possible, to meet any reasonable amendments that may be suggested in this House; provided again that in making such amendments Senators will bear in mind that there is necessity for such a measure and that their amendments will not render the Bill useless or nullify its purpose.
I know what Senators are concerned about—some Senators at any rate, just as some Deputies—and it is: what is the necessity for this Bill at this time? The position at the present time is that, following the enactment of the Constitution, the powers that the Government had under Article 2A disappeared. Senators are aware that this Government had to operate Article 2A. In addition, the Treasonable Offences Act of 1925 is of very doubtful validity, owing to the changed constitutional position. So you find yourselves then with the provisions set out here in Part V, that is, under the Public Safety Act of 1926, where you had power in an emergency to intern persons; but there again, recognising that a new position had arisen as a result of the enactment of the Constitution the Government does not think that it would be right and proper that we should use that Act without getting authority from the Oireachtas in the new circumstances.
The first four parts of this Bill embody powers that every Government has had to take in practically every country to protect itself. There is nothing abnormal about the provisions contained in these four parts of the Bill.
When we found ourselves denuded of the powers that we had previously, we had contemplated bringing this Bill in immediately after the enactment of the Constitution. There was some attempt to create confusion about it, but—as I said in the Dáil—there could be two minds about it, on the part of the people responsible for such legislation. One viewpoint is that, finding ourselves without what we considered to be necessary powers, we would get those powers from the Oireachtas immediately after the enactment of the Constitution, in a time of calm—when there was no emergency apparent to the people, at any rate—and not in a time of stress, and we would calmly introduce this Bill and have it calmly debated here in such circumstances. The second view might be—and any one person could have one or other of these two views—that we would wait until some emergency would arise. I said in the Dáil that I regarded the introduction of the Bill at the present time as more or less a compromise attitude. The Bill is necessary for the protection of the State: the powers that it embodies, we consider necessary. As to the other aspect of the compromise, it is this: I read in the Dáil various proclamations that had been published—one was issued on the 8th December last—by which a body calling itself the Government of the Republic handed over its functions to an army styling itself the Irish Republican Army.
There was a further statement issued and posted up all over the country subsequent to that by this army, appealing to the people for its support. "In this last effort." I do not want to burden the House by reading these proclamations here: I read them in the Dáil and I am sure that Senators are conversant with them. We know that such an armed body does exist in the country; we know that drilling has been going on. The armed body may not be very strong, but we know that it is in possession of certain materials. We know that in Donegal three people were killed as a result of an explosion. We know of various other activities of these people throughout the country; they may declare war on some people. We maintain they have no right to declare war; not even the Government have that right; the right to declare war is reserved to the Oireachtas alone. These people are taking to themselves—or pretending to take to themselves—these powers, and we know that the statement of them, or the publication of them in documents, is not so much playacting.
There is no time more dangerous in a country that is trying to maintain peace at home and be allowed to develop its political and social institutions and organisations, than a time when there is a position such as the international position at the present time. I believe that the Government would be foolhardy, and the representatives of the people—the Dáil and the Seanad here—would be foolhardy if powers were not taken to deal with a situation like that. We ask this House for these powers: the Dáil has given them to us.
There have been a number of amendments accepted, some of which I was really nervous of accepting, for the reason that if a time of crisis did arise we might be hampered in dealing with such a crisis because, as Senators know, in dealing with a crisis the most effective way is to deal with it quickly, and not be hampered by technicalities. At any rate, the first four parts of this Bill, as it comes before you now, are parts that any country would or could have adopted—and many have. They are powers to protect the State, powers which any properly constituted Government should take to itself and should get from its Legislature. The emergency provisions are provisions which we want to have there if the emergency does arise.
I might also mention, as regards internment, that a commission will be set up so that people who are interned may come before that commission and have their cases examined as to whether there are sufficient grounds for keeping them in prison or not.
I do not propose at this stage to say more about this Bill until, perhaps, when I am concluding and have heard what objections, if any, are raised to it. Many of the powers that are being taken under this Bill are powers which were previously taken under the Treasonable Offences Act, 1925, but whether they were previously taken under that Act or not, they are powers that are reasonable and powers that we are satisfied are necessary.