Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I remind Members that there are two separate motions being debated in the slot, namely, the motion regarding the proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the treaty of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters between Ireland and the UAE, and the motion regarding the proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the treaty on extradition between Ireland and the UAE. These motions will be moved together by the Minister and decided by separate questions, but we will debate them together. I call on the Minister to move the motion and commence the debate. The Minister has ten minutes.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann, pursuant to Article 29.5.2º of Bunreacht na hÉireann, approves the terms of the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates, signed on 21st October, 2024, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 23rd October, 2024.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and the House for facilitating both of these motions today. I welcome the opportunity to address the Dáil on the Treaty on Extradition between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates, and on the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.

Both of these agreements involve a charge upon public funds. Therefore, in line with Article 29.5.2º of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the State shall not be bound by these agreements unless the terms of the agreements have been approved by Dáil Éireann.

This Government is taking all necessary steps to dismantle organised crime. Given the increasingly transnational nature of organised crime, it is absolutely imperative that Ireland strategically strengthens judicial co-operation in criminal matters with other countries as part of our overall efforts to combat this serious global threat. It is only through national authorities working together on an international basis that we can effectively fight serious cross-border organised crime and protect the rule of law, while making our countries safer and more secure. As has been the case for many of our EU counterparts, the agreement of these bilateral treaties with the UAE will be of significant support in tackling organised crime and transnational drug trafficking gangs.

These bilateral treaties have been negotiated quickly and efficiently. I informed the Government that I was opening negotiations with the UAE on bilateral treaties on extradition and mutual legal assistance in December last year. Since then, there has been extensive engagement between myself and the Emirati Minister of Justice, Al Nuaimi, and between my officials and their Emirati counterparts. The focus of these negotiations has been to ensure that the processes for extradition and mutual legal assistance between Ireland and the UAE are structured and simplified, while also ensuring essential safeguards are maintained. Following detailed negotiations, treaty texts have been agreed and subject to national ratification procedures, including in the Dáil today, that satisfy lreland’s objectives and requirements. This is particularly the case regarding respect for national law and the protection of human rights. Ireland's red lines relating to human rights standards have been firmly maintained and appropriate safeguards included in the text of the treaties. These cover protected characteristics, the non-imposition of the death penalty, torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment and other relevant assurances. The extradition treaty allows extradition to be requested for any offence that is punishable by a sentence of at least one year in both Ireland and the UAE, with revenue offences being included within the scope of the treaty.

An extradition request must be refused in any of the following cases: there are substantial grounds for believing that the request for extradition has been made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing the person sought for reasons of race, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, language, political opinions, sex or status, or that the person’s position in the criminal proceedings may be prejudiced for any of those reasons; the offence for which extradition is sought is punishable by death, unless a sentence of capital punishment is not imposed on the person sought, or if for procedural reasons such condition cannot be complied with, a written undertaking is provided that the death penalty if imposed shall not be carried out; there are substantial grounds for believing that the person sought has been or would be subjected to torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment, or to proceedings which do not ensure the respect of basic defence rights. These are the three examples of where an extradition would not be agreed and it will not be permitted to extradite Irish citizens to the UAE, or Emirati citizens to Ireland, under the terms of this treaty. There are a number of further mandatory grounds for refusal of an extradition request, including where it relates to a political offence, a military offence that is not also an offence under ordinary criminal law, it would be contrary to the principle of double jeopardy, or would jeopardise the sovereignty, security, public order or essential interests of the State.

The mutual legal assistance treaty provides for the widest measure of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, meaning investigations, prosecutions and proceedings in relation to any offence which at the time of the request for assistance falls within the jurisdiction of the requesting party. Types of assistance to be provided include the taking of statements, provision of evidentiary items, execution of requests for search and seizure, identification, tracing, freezing, seizing, confiscation and disposing of proceeds of crime and any form of co-operation that is not contrary to national law. The mutual legal assistance treaty contains the same corresponding safeguards regarding protected characteristics, the death penalty and torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. It also provides that assistance shall be refused where required assurances have not been provided, including in relation to the protection, disclosure, use or transmission of information or evidence, or to the ability of a defendant to challenge any evidence supplied if the material is to be used at trial.

Again, there are a number of mandatory grounds for refusal of a request for assistance, including where it relates to a political offence, a military offence that is not also an offence under ordinary or common law, or would jeopardise the sovereignty, security, public order or essential interests of the State. Assistance may also be refused if the double criminality requirement is not met, the request relates to an offence which carries a maximum sentence of less than six months, an investigation, prosecution or proceedings are ongoing in the State, or the execution of the request would be contrary to the principle of double jeopardy.

A novel inclusion in these treaties, as compared with Ireland’s existing extradition and mutual legal assistance agreements, is the inclusion of provisions relating to data protection. International treaties and conventions relating to co-operation in criminal matters have not traditionally included provisions on data protection as standard. However, this is changing, and more modern instruments now include provisions on the protection of personal data. Legal advice has been received which has confirmed that it is appropriate for data protection provisions to be included in both the extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties.

Over the past two years, co-operation between Ireland and the UAE on combating transnational organised crime has been significantly stepped up. These treaties cement this successful co-operation and represent a crucial step in intensifying the combined fight to combat this serious threat. In addition to greater judicial co-operation, I have taken a number of steps to support international policing cooperation, including approval for the posting of Garda liaison officers overseas. There is excellent co-operation between An Garda Síochána and their counterparts in the UAE, and the deployment of a Garda liaison officer to Abu Dhabi last year has been key to this successful co-operation. Dubai police also travelled to Dublin recently to assist members of An Garda Síochána with a large transnational organised crime investigation arising from the seizure of 2.2 tonnes of cocaine on the MV Matthew off the coast of Waterford.

While I cannot comment on any individual case, any person involved in organised crime should know there is no hiding place; they will face justice. Many organised crime gangs think they can evade justice simply by crossing borders; they cannot. The State will do everything in its power to bring those who spread misery in so many of our communities to justice. These bilateral treaties on mutual legal assistance and extradition are an important tool in this regard. The approval of these two agreements demonstrates that none of us here will allow borders to be barriers to effective criminal justice co-operation. These treaties will provide a sound legal basis, grounded in international law, for Irish and Emirati judicial authorities to co-operate effectively in criminal matters, including criminal investigations, prosecutions and proceedings. Therefore, the Government has no hesitation in commending these motions to the House. I ask all Deputies to support these motions.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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Organised crime and its leaders should not enjoy impunity anywhere in the world. Such figures obviously attempt to keep moving to evade international justice, but the Emirates has good connections with the west and the east. It has a large diaspora and English is widely spoken. I visited it myself. My wife worked there a number of years ago. It has therefore been an ideal country in that part of the world for certain figures to do business in. Even if they are forced to move on, it is unlikely that their operations will not be somewhat disrupted. Some good work has been done recently by An Garda Síochána and it is to be commended for the ongoing co-operation with European, Middle Eastern and American counterparts. The Government has brought this proposal before us. That it is happening in the last week of this Dáil is a disappointment. The lack of any intent to move reforms on the Offences Against the State Act is also to be considered, and why that has not been done despite the annual votes.

An important aspect to consider when adjudicating on this extradition treaty is how justice functions within the UAE. Amnesty International has had some criticisms about the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in that country. Its report says the Abu Dhabi judicial department had a social media slogan saying that your freedom stops at the boundary of the law and there are 15-year prison sentences for damaging the reputation or prestige of the President, for example. Human Rights Watch has also had criticism in its country report on the UAE. It states that, "As of March 2023, Emirati authorities continued to incarcerate with no legal basis at least 51 Emirati prisoners who completed their sentences between 1 month and nearly 4 years ago."

Closer to home, we had the case of Tori Towey, the Roscommon woman who was detained for certain offences that are not criminal offences here. I commend my party colleagues, na Teachtaí Kerrane and McDonald, who were active on that case. Ms Towey was eventually released.

Two things need to be borne in mind, the need to end safe havens for serious criminals and the safeguards that govern extradition. On safeguards, there is a requirement, as the Minister stated, for dual criminality, namely that people are charged with an offence that is punishable by imprisonment in Ireland and in the other country for at least a year. The offence must be the same in the two countries and people may not be extradited if they will be held in custody for the purpose of investigation, notwithstanding that there are concerns about other types of offences and the whole criminal justice system in UAE. The applications must be made to the High Court and as Mr. Alan Eustace put it in the Trinity College Law Review:

The extradition hearing in the High Court is not concerned with the guilt or innocence of the person; the judge must issue the extradition order once she is satisfied that Ireland has an extradition agreement or treaty with the requesting country and that the request is made in keeping with the 1965 Act and such an agreement.

According to the briefing paper which was provided by the Department, there are additional safeguards in this situation which cover protected characteristics including the death penalty, as the Minister indicated; torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; and other relevant assurances, which are just as critical for campaigners worried about Irish citizens fleeing abusive relationships in the UAE and coming home. It will not be permitted to extradite Irish citizens to the UAE, or Emirati citizens to Ireland, in these circumstances under the terms of the treaty. There is mutual trust and confidence when Ireland enters into an extradition agreement with another country but it is important to ensure that such trust can be counted on. Therefore some restrictions are appropriate to see how the extradition requests develop in the future.

The briefing note also notes there are safeguards around human rights. We would ideally see more assurances in this area as it is vital that the relevant assurances are given, for example about the imposition of the death penalty, which still applies in the UAE. There should also be appropriate assurances about prison conditions in that country and the right to a fair trial. I note the reference to assurances about torture or degrading treatment, but it would be better to have more information on the list of issues referred to in the extradition treaty. It is a basic proposition that Ireland will not extradite someone if there will be a flagrant denial of justice in another country. That was the phrase used by the Supreme Court in recent case law. It is a high threshold for people opposing extradition to prove they would suffer a flagrant denial of justice in the requesting country. Notwithstanding that, given the history of some trial procedures in parts of the Middle East, as outlined in the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reports, it is vital this is protected. It is possible to envisage persons whose extradition is sought to the UAE challenging these issues in the courts.

It is also important that if people are extradited, they are not subject to rendition, transfer to another country, without permission first being sought from Ireland. There have been some difficulties with this in the past and the briefing note does not refer to that. Will the Minister expand on the rendition aspect?

On balance, the need for international co-operation in tackling crime gangs who themselves collaborate across borders and all around the globe and the fact that this is an area governed heavily by legal precedent within the State's control means Sinn Féin will be supporting this treaty.

A final note refers to the measures on mutual legal assistance contained in the treaty. The Government states the measures can be taken on and this is another direct quote: "any form of co-operation that is not contrary to national law". There are issues that will, unlike extradition requests, not be governed by the courts on a case-by-case basis. Perhaps the national security examiner might have a role to play in relation to these. If there are any further points to be made by the Government on this matter, we would like to hear them.

All that said, we support this motion and hope that continuing strides which are being made against organised crime and worldwide criminal gangs will continue.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The growth of criminal gangs operating out of this jurisdiction is a phenomenon that has developed incredible legs in recent decades. The reach of these criminal gangs goes well beyond our borders and the scale now rivals some of the biggest international cartels we have read about in other jurisdictions down through the decades, such as the Mafia or criminal cartels operating out of Mexico and countries in South America. We need to take action against that and one of the things that needs to be absolutely crystal clear is that there is no safe haven for those criminal overlords who can direct their criminal enterprises from the safety of another jurisdiction and cause mayhem and carnage among our population and many other populations, because the harm they do is certainly international.

I welcome the efforts of the Government to ensure there are no safe havens, certainly none criminals want to go to. Ultimately, if the only places left for these people to go are places like Russia and North Korea, that would be a desirable objective. It is certainly galling for our law agents to look at and know that godfathers of crime who have caused mayhem in this State are able to enjoy themselves in luxury in jurisdictions such as the UAE. We need to close down those safe havens. There is no doubt about that. I commend the growing co-operation between An Garda Síochána, Interpol and other international police forces. The co-operation with the FBI in the United States is of extreme importance, because of its capacity and reach in working with us. I also welcome the appointment of Garda liaison officers who are on the ground in a number of jurisdictions now. I would be interested in hearing from the Minister how she intends to develop all of that.

Having said that, we have to be careful in any international treaty on extradition to fundamentally safeguard human rights. It is a cornerstone of what we believe in. The Minister has recited in her speech today, and in the briefing note we received, the safeguards she has written into the treaty to protect against cruel and unusual treatment, torture and anyone who could face a death penalty. None of that could be tolerated. Reasonable points were made by my Sinn Féin colleague about conditions operating in the UAE and we would welcome hearing more views on that.

I only have a few minutes and I want to make one other point. There is growing co-operation between Ireland and the UAE, which I welcome, but we need to use our influence with the UAE on other matters. A cause of enormous concern now is the ongoing carnage in Sudan. It is almost overshadowed because there are so many other terrible things happening. For a little more than a year, Sudan has been the site of probably the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. We rightly focus on Gaza and the genocide that is happening there, but Sudan is on the brink of the worst famine in the world. According to the UN refugee agency, more than 7 million people have been internally displaced and 2 million have fled to neighbouring countries. Half the population of Sudan, 25 million people, are in dire need of humanitarian assistance now and 20,000 people have been killed. The biggest supplier of arms to that conflict according to the UN is the UAE, which has its own interests in these matters. I do not have time to develop the point any further, other than to say, that I hope that in our growing co-operation with the UAE we will seek to appeal to them to stop the support in arms and other military equipment to the warring factions because peace is so far away in Sudan right now and literally millions of people are on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe.

While we rightly focus on Lebanon, Gaza and Ukraine, that catastrophe could outstrip them all in terms of the harm it is doing to human beings.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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We will also be supporting this motion. Having an extradition treaty with the UAE is desirable. It is galling to see individuals who have wreaked havoc living in comfort in another jurisdiction and also operating without any sanction. These are people who in some cases are household names. However, we must remember that individual cases do not make good law. That has often been said, rightly so. In looking at this extradition treaty we must consider it in a wider context, not just through the lens of organised crime. We must consider its durability in the long term.

It is important that there are safeguards because we have two very different cultures and two very distinct ways of dealing with issues. Matters that we would consider criminal might not be so considered in the UAE and vice versa. It is important that human rights are central to the treaty. I note there were quite a lot of safeguards outlined in the document we were provided with, but more could be considered.

We must also consider how we got to the point where we have these home-grown crime gangs and the extent of their power, which is international at this stage. That comes back to how organised crime groups are allowed to develop, in respect of the level of policing and the lack of proactive policing. We have seen that in such places as Limerick, Louth and the north inner city of Dublin where communities have been blighted and reputational damage is done to them as a consequence of people being allowed to get to a point where the population can say the dogs in the street could have told us. It nearly seems to get to a pitch before it is dismantled. That is because a proactive policing model is lacking to the extent required. The Garda Commissioner rightly told the Policing Authority that the total strength of the Garda is 14,064 but he made the point that this is inadequate. I know there is a constant intake of recruits to Templemore but the output is very slow to emerge, especially given the number of people retiring, sometimes mid-career because of the competitive jobs market and their skill set.

We cannot look at the treaty in isolation. We must look at how these home-grown gangs got to the point where they are so powerful internationally. We cannot allow that to continue. This is about dealing with things at a much lower level than they have been dealt with and breaking up these gangs at a much earlier stage.

I have a question for the Minister about Article 24 of the treaty. We are doing our piece on the motion. Could she give us an update in respect of the UAE's side and the timeline for completion of communications through the diplomatic channels? I know the dates on which the treaties were signed last month, but the Minister might just confirm them.

I read an article by Conor Gallagher in today's The Irish Times. The Garda Síochána Inspectorate has made a recommendation regarding the way in which An Garda Síochána handles organised and transnational crime. It recommends that informants who provide intelligence to the Garda on organised crime activity should be permitted to commit criminal offences in certain circumstances. I ask the Minister to comment on that and indicate what her views are on it. I have some concerns in that regard and I would be surprised if others do not feel the same way. The Minister might elaborate on it.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I do not think anybody is going to be sorry if people involved in violent criminality are extradited from the United Arab Emirates. This arrangement facilitates that extradition and the bringing to justice of people involved in violent criminality. However, to put it very mildly, I have grave concerns about the UAE's human rights credentials. I see in the Minister's speech, which I have just looked through, that there is a lot of conditionality around all of this and that she is cognisant of the human rights aspect of it, as it were. It is important to say this is a regime that has a brutal disregard for human rights. It has dozens of prisoners of conscience. This is a regime in which people can get long stretches in prison, up to 15 years, for damaging the reputation or prestige of the president. Every single one of us would be in prison for the comments that are made on a regular basis in this Dáil in robust political debate. People would get a 15-year prison sentence in the United Arab Emirates for saying things that we, and members of the public, say every day about what we see as the policy failures of politicians of all stripes.

That is the sort of regime we are dealing with, The UAE is closely associated with Saudi Arabia, which has a similarly brutal sort of authoritarian character and has been up to its neck in an horrific, near genocidal war against the people of Yemen for a long period. Its weapons have slaughtered tens of thousands of people in Yemen. Much to the anger and fury of ordinary people in the Middle East, in particular the Palestinian people who are suffering under the horror of a genocidal assault by Israel but also decades of apartheid, occupation and ethnic cleansing, the UAE is also one of the few regimes that gives free passage to the people and political representatives of Israel to go to that country. Were it not for recent events and the outrage being expressed across the region at what Israel is doing to the Palestinians, the UAE was planning to have an agreement with Israel that was mediated, interestingly enough, by Donald Trump to normalise relations between it and Israel. That is despite the horror of what Israel is doing and despite the fact that it does not represent the vast majority of people in the Middle East or very likely in the UAE itself. It has a terrible record on the treatment of migrant workers, who make up about 80% of the population of the country.

This is a brutal, nasty regime that is more than willing to do business with the regime in Israel that is committing genocidal atrocities and war crimes against the people of Palestine. It is important to put these things on the record because this is not some sort of normal regime. It is part of an architecture of oppression. Effectively, the regime was established by the colonial powers as part of a project to control and dominate the Middle East and set up dictatorial regimes to prevent the self-determination of the people of the Middle East and their ability to control their own destinies. That is actually what this regime is part of. I just hope that this is not a step towards legitimising a very brutal regime that is a block to the self-determination of the people of the Middle East and their ability to have freedom, justice and to control their own destinies, and which has very scant regard for human rights.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this debate. It is vitally important that we have strong and meaningful engagements with every country in the world. I worked on behalf of a citizen of Clonmel and I want to thank the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, and various Ministers, as well as the former Taoiseach, who helped out. The gentleman who was incarcerated there was from Clonmel. When he was incarcerated for so many years, his wife moved to Dublin. I was pleasantly informed, when I raised the matter here with the then Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, that his wife was a constituent of the Taoiseach's. The support that we got from the Department of Foreign Affairs was so important. I thank them for their engagement. That man went to hell and back because of a situation that was not of his own making. He worked for a Clonmel company. Unfortunately, like the crash here, there was a crash and he happened to be the paymaster, paying the bills. He was deemed to be responsible but there was no justice over there. There was no 90-day wait for money or whatever. He was incarcerated and deemed to be responsible for his company's inability to pay whomsoever. The support we got was so important. I want to thank the officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and those working in our embassies around the world. I dealt with another case lately which turned out okay, thank God. A chap from my own constituency was missing in that part of the world as well but thankfully, he turned up safely. Again, the embassy stood ready to help.

On the day that is in it, with the indulgence of the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, I wish to congratulate the President-elect of America. We must recognise the democracy out there. We must accept and work with whoever is the president of any country. The US was one of the first democracies. We have admired it for years. We saw all of the shenanigans in the last number of years but now that is the past. The people have spoken. Not only have the people spoken but I believe, although I have not been watching the coverage, the different states and electoral colleges have also spoken. There is a President-elect with a clear victory in all areas. I said to the Taoiseach earlier, when on my phone arrived a lovely picture that he decided to tweet of a baseball cap that arrived in his office, according to his own words, with "Harris" on it that he was electioneering for the candidate there. Not only that but in 2015 when he was a young Minister, he made a ferocious attack on Donald Trump. At that time, he was not President but he was aiming to be President. I refer to former President Trump, now President-elect. Deputy Harris said that any day in office is a good day when he has a different opinion and view to that of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Mr. Musk has to be reined in, as we know. He is a private business man, as is former President Trump. We have to be very careful, as I said earlier. We have to praise the bridge as we go over. The Taoiseach made a recent statement again along the same lines. It was very ill-judged to be making comments when there was an election process going on over there. There is one starting here, when he gets the courage to blow the whistle, and we do not want interference from abroad. We have to work with all governments.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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Deputy, I remind you to remain on topic.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Yes, I am focused on remaining on it. I thank the Chair. Of course, we need to strengthen this legislation but I am just making the general point that our leaders here need to be careful what they wish for. We do not want to be putting up flags. I would encourage the Taoiseach and the Government to congratulate President-elect Trump at the earliest opportunity, invite him to Ireland and seek an early meeting with him. The Taoiseach was in the US meeting President Biden recently, along with senior IDA officials and others in an effort to maintain our good relationship. I am speaking on behalf of south Tipperary, Cluain Meala, west Waterford and Dungarvan where there are about 9,000 US foreign direct investment jobs. We value those jobs. Merck, Sharp and Dohme has been there almost 55 years and we need to keep those jobs. We need to have proper channels of communications with all embassies-----

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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Deputy, what you are talking about is not relevant to this debate.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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It is very relevant.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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It is not. We are talking about criminal matters here. I am asking you-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Yes. The election is over. We can all get over ourselves and accept that we have a President now, elected, and we have to work with him. We need America, above any place else, because so many of our diaspora are out there. We need to have relations with them to help us in different parts of the world as well.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I was not aware we had just elected a new President ourselves, but anyway.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Elect, I said. President-elect.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank colleagues who know what we are talking about here for their support, in the most part, for this motion today. We all want the same thing here and the people of this country want the same thing. Where a person has committed a serious crime, where a group of individuals are spreading misery, mayhem, death and destruction across our communities, where they are dragging young people into lives of crime and misery, it is so important that they are held accountable in this country. That is what this about. It is about making sure that those who are responsible for inflicting nothing but misery on our country can be held accountable here. It is, as Deputies have suggested, about tightening the net and closing as many doors as possible to make sure that those who think they can cross borders and set up a better, nicer life while still continuing to conduct their criminal activities from those countries cannot do so. It is about closing as many doors as possible and providing fewer spaces for them to go to. No matter where they go, we will send a very clear message that we will continue to engage with every single country to put these types of measures and structures in place so that they can be brought home and held accountable in our own courts and by our own justice system. That has been absolutely imperative throughout these negotiations. While this is happening now, just before the Dáil breaks, the negotiations only began last Christmas. This has been done in a relatively short period although we have not, in any way, cut any corners. There has been a huge amount of work done by my team in the Department of Justice, working with members of the Garda, with officials in the UAE and its police service and judiciary, to make sure that we get this right. Human rights have been the basis of this at every step of the way, not just on our side but also from the UAE. We are all absolutely committed to making sure that all of these measures that I have outlined are very clearly in place.

Deputy Catherine Murphy asked a specific question. Article 10 of the extradition treaty outlines very clearly that we cannot surrender, or the country that has sought the extradition cannot surrender, a person to a third country or third party without the consent of the requesting party. That is very clearly stated in the document as outlined.

In terms of the overall work that has been done, Deputy Murphy referenced the inspectorate report which has only just been published. There is quite a number of recommendations in that report. I have to point out that there is quite a lot of positive commentary within the report, including an acknowledgement that there has been a huge amount of financial investment and other resources in An Garda Síochána to enable its members to work on a transnational basis with Interpol, Europol, their European and US counterparts and others across the world. We are building up those relationships because we know that crime knows no boundaries and because of the way in which criminals are now working and operating. A huge amount of positive work has been done and the report this week makes recommendations on how we can strengthen that work and do even more. What we are discussing here today really complements that. So much of the work I have done over the past four years has been about building up and investing in capacity. Almost half a billion euro more has been invested in the Garda over the past four years alone. That is not just going into increasing our numbers. I acknowledge that the numbers are not where I want them to be but they are gradually increasing. I can see that momentum building and I want that to continue even more, but we are also investing in technology, equipment and in building those relationships, in expanding the number of liaison officers that we have right across the world.

We must ensure that the Garda has the stations, all of the equipment and everything else it needs to do its job as effectively as possible. When these structures are put in place, the Garda must be supported to bring these criminals home and ensure they face the full rigour of the law. I thank colleagues for their support.

We will always ensure that as we build relationships, we engage on matters and different issues. While we will not always agree on certain matters, building those relationships and working and engaging with colleagues from right across the globe will mean we start to build and agree a common purpose and interest. We can then use that when it comes to peace. Deputy Howlin referenced the atrocities that are happening in Sudan. We are a small country that is focused on peace and we will use our voice to do everything we can to bring about peace no matter where in the world. That is the case in respect of our relationship with the UAE and other countries.

I again thank colleagues for their support of these motions, which are about assuring criminals who think they can cross boundaries to evade justice that there is nowhere to hide. Bit by bit, we will close every door available to them and will ensure they can be brought home to face justice in this country.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann, pursuant to Article 29.5.2º of Bunreacht na hÉireann, approves the terms of the Treaty on Extradition between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates, signed on 21st October, 2024, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 23rd October, 2024.