Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

The Minister made an amazing announcement on New Year's Eve with regard to the establishment of a second Special Criminal Court. The Special Criminal Court was set up under legislation in 1939 on the grounds that ordinary courts were not adequate to deal with the process of justice. The Minister has just told us that the main reason for its establishment is dissident republican groups and that therefore there is a backlog. Surely there is not more paramilitary activity now than in the thirty years of the Northern Ireland Troubles during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The Minister is saying that dissident republican groups are causing so much concern that he must set up a second court. Of what do the five cases in the backlog consist? Are they are all related to paramilitary activity or are they non-scheduled cases which could equally be dealt with in the ordinary courts?

How does this tally with the Good Friday Agreement, when we, as co-sponsors, agreed to review our special legislation, including the Special Criminal Court, with a view to its dismantlement? The British authorities have already dismantled the Diplock courts. We are a stable democracy but in what direction is this country going when a second criminal court and emergency legislation dominate the area of serious crime?

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