Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024
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PART 7 Independent Examiner of Security Legislation | ||
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Chapter 1 Preliminary and General (Part 7) | ||
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Definitions (Part 7) | ||
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229. In this Part— | ||
“Act of 1993” means the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 ; | ||
“Act of 2009” means the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009 ; | ||
“Act of 2011” means the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011 ; | ||
“annual report” has the meaning assigned to it by section 244 (1); | ||
“establishment day of the office” means the day appointed under section 231 ; | ||
“information holder” means— | ||
(a) An Garda Síochána, | ||
(b) the Permanent Defence Force, or | ||
(c) a Minister of the Government or any other public body— | ||
(i) with responsibilities relating to national security and protecting the security of the State, including the safeguarding of critical infrastructure, the economic well-being of the State and international relations, | ||
(ii) responsible for, or involved in, the development, implementation or operation of security legislation, or | ||
(iii) in possession of information, documents or any other thing which, in the opinion of the Independent Examiner, is relevant to his or her work; | ||
“office” has the meaning assigned to it by section 232 (1); | ||
“relevant Minister”, in relation to an information holder, means— | ||
(a) where the information holder is a Minister of the Government, that Minister, and | ||
(b) in each other instance, the Minister of the Government with responsibility for the information holder and in whom functions are vested, whether statutory or otherwise, as respects the information holder; | ||
“security legislation” means— | ||
(a) the Offences against the State Acts 1939 to 1998, | ||
(b) the Criminal Law Act 1976 , | ||
(c) the Act of 1993, | ||
(e) the Act of 2009, | ||
(f) the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 , | ||
(g) the Act of 2011, and | ||
(h) any legislation specified by the Taoiseach in accordance with section 230 ; | ||
“security services” means services related to protecting the security of the State; | ||
“sensitive information” means information received by the Independent Examiner in the course of performing his or her functions that, were it to be disclosed to a third party, might— | ||
(a) prejudice or impair the security of the State, defence or international interests, or matters relating to Northern Ireland, | ||
(b) endanger the life or safety of any person, | ||
(c) identify, or provide details of, a source of information, other assistance or operational methods used in the delivery of security services or policing services, | ||
(d) reveal information about particular policing or security operations, criminal investigations or prosecutions that have been, are being or are proposed to be undertaken by an information holder, | ||
(e) reveal information provided to the State by an international body or the government of a state, other than the State, where the international body or government of that state does not consent to its disclosure, | ||
(f) prejudice the giving to the State of further sensitive information by an international body or the government of a state, other than the State, or prejudice the giving to an international body of further similar information by other states, or | ||
(g) prejudice the cooperation of an international body or the government of another state with the State; | ||
“special report” means a report submitted to the Taoiseach under subsection (1) or (3) of section 245 . |