Amendment No. 6 is related to amendment No. 5 and they may be discussed together by agreement.
SECTION 5.
I move amendment No. 5:
In page 4, line 24, to delete ", on the demand of the person arrested,".
Section 5 provides that a Garda may arrest on foot of a warrant or court order, even if the warrant is not in his or her possession subject to the production of the warrant or order on the demand of the person arrested as soon as practicable. My amendment will require that the warrant or order be shown to the arrested person as soon as is practicable. The difference is that the arrested person will not have to demand the production of the warrant and I am satisfied this is a more appropriate and reasonable requirement. After the enactment of these measures in respect of an offence for which a warrant of arrest is required a Garda may execute an arrest warrant without having the warrant at that time in his or her possession. The warrant must be shown to the arrested person, however, as soon as practicable after the execution of the warrant.
Deputy O'Donoghue's amendment would require that the warrant or order shall be shown to the arrested person as soon as practicable within two hours from the time of arrest but on the demand of the person arrested. My amendment will require that the Garda will show the arrest warrant to the arrested person whether or not the arrested person asks for sight of the warrant. That will be in every case where an arrest is executed without the warrant at the time of arrest being in the possession of the Garda. To constrain a Garda to show the arrested person the warrant within two hours of the execution is to impose an extraordinarily onerous requirement on him or her. It would in many cases be wholly realistic to show an arrested person the relevant warrant within the time limit but in other cases it would not be practicable and it would not happen. An absolute necessity to do that in a number of cases would defy the logistics very often of the situation that a Garda may be found in.
For example, if the warrant for the arrest of a person issues from Galway District Court would the Deputy's amendment constrain a Garda in Dublin, who was made aware of the warrant, from executing the warrant on identifying the person on a Dublin street because he or she cannot guarantee that the warrant will be available in Dublin within two hours to show that person. It is a practical step which will apply when a person is not where the warrant was taken out but information is transmitted to another part of the country. I am sure Deputy O'Donoghue can find many examples involving logistic impossibilities. Under the circumstances, imposing a time limit would not be practical. The changes I propose are more appropriate.
The Minister's amendment achieves the objective of the person being shown the warrant at an early date. My amendment provided that it would be shown within two hours once it had been demanded. The Minister's amendment ensures that the warrant will be shown to the person involved as soon as is practicable regardless of a demand.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment No. 6 not moved.
Section 5, as amended, agreed to.