Warrant problem to be solved

The Government has moved to close off a legal loophole which threatened to wreck prosecutions against dissident republicans and other alleged criminals.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter said legislation is being drafted to give new search powers to gardaí, following a ruling this month that previous search warrants were unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruling last month had meant cases involving Section 29 search warrants — in which senior Garda officers investigating subversive and organised crime had the power to sign warrants and search homes — could no longer go ahead.