Helen McEntee to address legal conference on national security oversight
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Helen McEntee
Helen McEntee, the justice minister, will join a number of leading international experts later this month to discuss the oversight of national security in Ireland at a conference hosted by University of Galway’s School of Law.
Taking place on Friday 23 September 2022, the conference is being organised to coincide with the publication of new legislation to establish an office of independent examiner of national security in Ireland.
The legislation follows a recommendation made by the Commission on the Future of Policing in 2018.
Mrs McEntee will open the conference, while two keynote speakers — Grant Donaldson SC, the independent national security legislation monitor for Australia, and Lord David Anderson KC, a former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation for the UK — will advise on experiences of national security oversight in the UK and Australia
Professor Donncha O’Connell, organiser of the conference and a member of the Commission, said: “For the first time since the foundation of the state Ireland will have an independent office to oversee all actors, including the gardaí, Defence Forces and others involved in national security.
“It is a welcome development and there are reasons to be optimistic about the establishment of this oversight mechanism.
“Our conference will provide an opportunity to hear from experts with experience of such mechanisms in other jurisdictions so that those dealing with the Irish legislation — government officials, politicians, security services and other experts — can learn from what works and does not work elsewhere with a view to optimising the potential of the office of Independent Examiner in Ireland.”
The half-day conference, entitled Oversight of National Security in Ireland: Lessons from Australia and the United Kingdom is being held in the Moot Court Room, Cairnes Building, University of Galway.
An expert panel will discuss the issues raised in the keynotes, including Dr Jessie Blackbourn of Durham University; Dermot Woods of the National Security Analysis Centre in the Department of An Taoiseach; Professor Marie Breen-Smyth, the independent reviewer for justice and security for Northern Ireland; and Michael O’Neill, head of legal at the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
The conference will also be live-streamed on Zoom so that people can participate remotely.
More information about the conference is available via Eventbrite.
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