Offences Against the State Act 1939
F27[Rearrest under section 30 of Act of 1939.
30A.—F28[(1) Where a person arrested on suspicion of having committed an offence is detained pursuant to section 30 of this Act and is released without any charge having been made against him, he shall not—
(a) be arrested again in connection with the offence to which the detention related, or
(b) be arrested for any other offence of which, at the time of the first arrest, the member of the Garda Síochána by whom he was arrested, suspected, or ought reasonably to have suspected, him of having committed,
except under the authority of a warrant issued by a judge of the District Court who is satisfied on information supplied on oath by a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent that either of the following cases apply, namely—
(i) further information has come to the knowledge of the Garda Síochána since the person’s release as to his suspected participation in the offence for which his arrest is sought,
(ii) notwithstanding that the Garda Síochána had knowledge, prior to the person’s release, of the person’s suspected participation in the offence for which his arrest is sought, the questioning of the person in relation to that offence, prior to his release, would not have been in the interests of the proper investigation of the offence.]
F29[(1A) An application for a warrant under this section shall be heard otherwise than in public.]
(2) Section 30 of this Act, and, in particular, any powers conferred thereby, shall apply to or in respect of a person arrested in connection with an offence to which that section relates under a warrant issued pursuant to subsection (1) of this section as it applies to or in respect of a person to whom that section applies, with the following and any other necessary modifications:
(a) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):
"(3) Whenever a person is arrested under a warrant issued pursuant to section 30A(1) of this Act, he may be removed to and detained in custody in a Garda Síochána station, a prison or some other convenient place for a period of 24 hours from the time of his arrest.",
(b) the deletion of F30[subsections (4), (4A), F28[(4B), (4BA), (4BB), (4BC)] and (4D)], and
(c) the addition of the following at the end of subsection (4C):
"or, in case the detention follows an arrest under a warrant issued pursuant to section 30A of this Act, by subsection (3) of this section as substituted by the said section 30A.".
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, a person to whom that subsection relates may be arrested for any offence F30[for the purpose of charging him or her with that offence forthwith or bringing him or her before a Special Criminal Court as soon as practicable so that he or she may be charged with that offence before that Court].]
Annotations
Amendments:
F27
Inserted (3.09.1998) by Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 (39/1998), s. 11, commenced on enactment; continued in force annually, most recently for one year to 29 June 2026 as per s. 18(1) (25.06.2025) by Resolution of Dáil Éireann: Debates Volume 1069 No. 5, 25 June 2025, Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions, and (24.06.2025) by Resolution of Seanad Éireann: Debates Volume 306 No. 14, 24 June 2025, Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions.
F28
Substituted (23.07.2009) by Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 (32/2009), s. 21(2), (3), commenced on enactment.
F29
Inserted (23.07.2009) by Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 (32/2009), s. 21(2), commenced on enactment.
F30
Substituted (1.08.2006) by Criminal Justice Act 2006 (26/2006), s. 187(b)(i), (ii) S.I. No. 390 of 2006.
Modifications (not altering text):
C16
References to "a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent" construed (20.11.2015) by Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014 (11/2014), s. 166, S.I. No. 508 of 2015.
166. The reference to a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent in each of the provisions specified in column (3) of the Table to this section of the enactments specified in column (2) of that Table shall be construed as a reference to a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector if the reason or one of the reasons for seeking the arrest of the person concerned for—
(a) the offence in relation to which he or she was detained under section 30 of the Act of 1939, section 4 of the Act of 1984, section 2 of the Act of 1996 or section 50 of the Act of 2007, as the case may be, or
(b) any other offence of which, at the time of the first arrest, the member of the Garda Síochána by whom he or she was arrested suspected, or ought reasonably to have suspected, him or her of having committed,
is that the Garda Síochána have, since the person’s release, obtained the results of the forensic testing of a sample taken under the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence) Act 1990 or otherwise or under Part 2 from the person while he or she was detained under section 30 of the Act of 1939, section 4 of the Act of 1984, section 2 of the Act of 1996 or section 50 of the Act of 2007, as the case may be, and those results indicate a match of the person’s DNA profile with a DNA profile generated from a sample taken from the crime scene in respect of the offence for which the arrest of the person is sought.