Ireland to introduce three new terrorist offences under new plans
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Ireland will introduce three new terrorist offences under plans to be discussed by Cabinet on Tuesday morning.
Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan will discuss the publication of the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2025 when Ministers meet in Government Buildings. The Terrorist Offences Bill will allow for the prosecution of a broader range of terrorist activities in light of the evolving nature of terrorism, sources said on Monday evening.
The Bill provides for the addition of three new terrorist offences which are directed at what was branded the "foreign terrorist fighter phenomenon". This will make receiving training for terrorism, travelling for the purpose of terrorism and organising or facilitating travelling for the purpose of terrorism criminal offences.
It will also permit courts to treat the fact that the offence was committed against a child as an aggravating factor when sentencing a person for recruiting or providing training. It is understood that these changes will bring Ireland's counter-terrorism laws into line with other EU member states and will facilitate Ireland's participation in enhanced counter-terrorism networks across the EU.
This will give An Garda Síochána the ability to tap into those networks to respond to both domestic and cross-border terrorist threats. Elsewhere, Tánaiste Simon Harris will tell Cabinet that he is concerned about the EU's list of potential retaliatory tariffs on the US.
The EU last month produced a list of counter tariffs it will impose on the US if President Donald Trump does not row back on proposed measures. He initially announced 20% tariffs on goods entering the US from the EU but then implemented a 90-day pause and said a 10% tariff would apply.
President Trump then announced that a 50 per cent tariff would apply from June 1 after he suggested that negotiations with the EU were "going nowhere". However, he reinstated the 90-day pause following a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It expires on July 8.
At this morning's Cabinet meeting, the Tánaiste will tell his colleagues that Ireland has particular concerns about the list of proposed countermeasures in relation to the aviation, the medtech and agrifood sectors. These concerns are being conveyed to the Commission, including in a letter from the Tánaiste to EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič sent ahead of the closure of the EU's public consultation period today.
The Tánaiste's letter will state that the countermeasures should not harm EU businesses and consumers more than the US, that the EU should be mindful to avoid unnecessarily escalating trade tensions and that the impact of measures must also not be implemented disproportionately, either on any one Member State, one sector or one individual company. Where possible, Mr Harris wrote, the EU should try to avoid imposing unnecessary costs on EU companies.
The Tánaiste will tell colleagues that discussions on a possible trade deal between the EU and the US are advancing with technical talks taking place in Washington DC in recent days. If no solution is reached, the EU will implement its countermeasures on July 14.
The Tánaiste will seek Cabinet approval for a plan designed to retain and incentivise highly skilled specialists in the Air Corps. Under the proposals, a Service Commitment Scheme, currently used by Air Corps pilots, will be extended to Air Traffic Control personnel.
Elsewhere, new college places in the health, disability and education sectors will be created under a plan being brought by Higher Education Minister James Lawless, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Children's Minister Norma Foley. This funding will support the creation of 461 additional annual places in these priority professions each year from now on, with the majority of new places commencing in 2025.
This immediate expansion will include Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Radiation Therapy, Radiography, Podiatry, Social Work, Medical Science, and Dietetics. Minister for Education Helen McEntee will update Cabinet on progress being made in providing new special education classes for the 2025/26 school year.
She has asked for all timelines for the 2026/27 school year to ensure better planning and ensure that children are accepted into new special classes much earlier.
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