asked the Minister for Justice whether Mr. Peadar O'Donnell's office at 39 Marlborough Road was raided and searched by members of the Gárda Síochána on yesterday, Wednesday, July 4th; if so, what was the object of the raid and whether anything incriminating was found as a result of the search.
PRIVATE NOTICE QUESTION. - SEARCH BY GARDA.
The premises, No. 39 Marlborough Road, Donnybrook, were searched yesterday by members of the Gárda Síochána under the authority of a search warrant granted by a Justice of the District Court under the Treasonable Offences Act, 1925. The object of the search was to obtain treasonable documents suspected to be in the premises. The search proved nugatory.
In view of the fact that Mr. O'Donnell has now been arrested and searched fourteen times within the last few weeks, and that the further search which has taken place since the matter was raised here has also proved fruitless, can the Minister give an undertaking that the campaign against Mr. O'Donnell will stop?
The Guards have to do their duty and will continue to do their duty.
Is this a variation of the system by which people have been kept in prison without trial for seven or eight months, and then when they are brought to trial they are found not guilty? Is this another way of getting their own back?
Will the Deputy mention any persons who were kept in prison for eight months without trial?
That is another question.
Mr. BOLAND
I will give a whole string of them.
I would like to ask the Minister if he is aware that the manager of a newspaper, which is turned out on these premises, was prevented from going into his office during the course of the raid, and if it is also a fact that a member of the Gárdai went to the telephone and represented himself to one caller as a member of the staff of the newspaper?
I have no information as to that.
Will the Minister make inquiries?
I can make inquiries, but the matter does not arise out of this question. I have no notice of that.
The Minister is aware that Mr. O'Donnell has been arrested twelve or fourteen times within the last month. Was he arrested for the purpose of getting incriminating evidence on him in the nature of incriminating documents?
That matter was very fully discussed on the adjournment the other day.
And was most unsatisfactorily answered.
I put down that question, but I was not here to ask it. Was it the purpose in getting Mr. O'Donnell arrested to have him searched?
Mr. O'Donnell was searched for incriminating documents. I am sure Deputy Boland will give Deputy Aiken full information as to what happened on the adjournment debate.
Will the Minister give me the information—was that the purpose of arresting him?
If he was arrested each time in order to get something incriminating on him why was he not arrested and searched on the day he was released, last Wednesday? If he was arrested in order to be searched, why was he not searched?
I understood he was searched.
Mr. BOLAND
He was not searched.
If I am not mistaken, one of the Deputy's charges was that he was searched.
Yes, but he was not searched on that occasion. The Minister said that he was always arrested in order to be searched. If that was the purpose of arresting him why was he not searched?
This is a question of a raid on the premises yesterday. It is a different question to the other altogether.
I would like if the Minister would give us some assurance that these obviously groundless raids will cease and that there will be no interference with this man in the course of his business in future unless there is substantial reason to justify it. We have had a series of these raids on Mr. O'Donnell. In each case the raid proved fruitless and yet the raids are being continued. I would like if the Minister would give us an assurance that this practice will stop.
If the Guards have reasonable suspicion and think that there are incriminating documents on Mr. O'Donnell it will be the duty of the Guards to search him.
May I ask the Minister whether he does not think that a man who has been searched fourteen times is unlikely to have any incriminating documents on him? Is it not obvious that it is a case of continuous persecution?
Nothing else.
He has always opportunities of getting rid of these documents.