Garda Síochána Act 2005
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Designated judge to oversee operation of certain provisions. |
100.— (1) After consulting with the Minister, the President of the High Court shall invite a judge of the Court to undertake (while serving as a judge) the functions specified in subsection (3), and, if the invitation is accepted, the Government shall designate the judge for the purpose of performing those functions. | |
(2) The designated judge holds office in accordance with the terms of his or her designation. | ||
(3) The functions of the designated judge are— | ||
(a) to keep under review the operation of sections 96(4) to (6) and 99(3) to (5) of this Act and of any regulations under section 126 , and | ||
(b) to report to the Taoiseach from time to time concerning any matters relating to the operation of those sections or regulations that the judge considers should be reported. | ||
(4) For the purpose of performing his or her functions, the designated judge— | ||
(a) may investigate any case in which a direction is issued by the Minister under section 96 or 99, | ||
(b) is entitled to access to and may inspect any documents relating to that direction and any notification by the Garda Commissioner requesting the direction, and | ||
(c) is entitled to access to any Garda Síochána station designated by regulation under section 126 , as a place in which documents relating to the security of the State are stored and may inspect any document storage facility or documents in the station. | ||
(5) Any person who was concerned in, or has information relevant to— | ||
(a) a matter referred to the Minister under section 96 (5), | ||
(b) an objection under section 99 (4) to the search of a Garda Síochána station on grounds relating to the security of the State, | ||
(c) a direction of the Minister concerning a matter referred to in paragraph (a) or an objection referred to in paragraph (b), | ||
shall, at the request of the designated judge, give him or her any information that the person has relating to that matter, objection or direction. | ||
(6) The Taoiseach shall ensure that a copy of a report under subsection (3) is laid before each House of the Oireachtas together with a statement of whether any matter has been excluded under subsection (7) from the report. | ||
(7) If the Taoiseach considers, after consulting with the designated judge, that the publication of any matter in a report copies of which are to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas under subsection (6) would be prejudicial to the security of the State, the Taoiseach may exclude the matter from those copies. |