Tough new measures to combat paramilitary activity have come into operation in this State following their early signature into law by the Presidential Commission late last night.
The Presidential Commission met in Leinster House to sign the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Bill 1998 into law at 11.15 p.m., shortly after the Seanad concluded its day-long deliberations on the legislation.
The Commission - comprising the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Liam Hamilton, the Ceann Comhairle, Mr Seamus Pattison, and the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, Senator Brian Mullooly - is empowered to sign Bills into law in the absence of the President, Mrs McAleese, who is on an official visit in Australia.
Britain's new emergency legislation is due to receive royal assent today after peers agreed to complete their debate in one sitting last night, despite reservations about rushing the Bill through Parliament.
Yesterday's Seanad debate mirrored Wednesday's Dail session, with many civil libertarian reservations being raised. However, only the Independent Senator, Mr Brendan Ryan, opposed the Bill in its entirety.
Early in the debate, the Leader of the Opposition in the Seanad, Senator Maurice Manning (Fine Gael), said that the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, had given a specific commitment to the Dail the previous night that he would provide for an annual review of the legislation if it was being renewed after the end of June, 2000.
However, the amendment, as it appeared in the Bill before the Seanad, was very different from what they had been told, Mr Manning said.
In reply, the Minister said that he was prepared to make a "small amendment". He suggested the unusual step of inserting an amendment to provide for an annual review of the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act into the Criminal Justice Bill currently before the Dail. The change will be made later this month.
If the Minister had proposed a new amendment in the Seanad, he would have been required to bring the Bill back to the Dail. This would have necessitated a further recall of the Dail, with a consequent delay in the signing of the Bill into law.
Seanad and House of Lords reports: page 6