Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

The only reason people continue to support this repressive legislation, which undoubtedly infringes on our civil liberties and freedoms, is that the overwhelming majority want to uphold as much of their democracy and freedom as possible. They are prepared to sacrifice some of their rights and civil liberties so the State can use these laws to protect that democracy from those few who, with the bomb and the bullet, would take it away from them.

It is not repressive governments or those in opposition who support this legislation imposing these unwelcome and regressive laws on Irish citizens. No democratic government or party that legitimately faces the electorate every five years could or would justify the continuation of these laws without the knowledge that the vast majority of the people support the underlying objective of protecting democracy and the lives and well-being of citizens.

These laws are dangerous and there are risks involved, such as abuse by the gardaí, the Government may not repeal them at the appropriate time or the laws will be used for purposes other than those intended. Recent events and debates in this House about the Morris tribunal, the Garda Síochána Bill and the Criminal Justice Bill must be measured against this repressive legislation which we are forced to maintain and, from time to time, to add to because of the continuing activity of the Provisional IRA, the Real IRA, the Continuity IRA and any other jumped up terrorist organisation that tries to usurp the authority of the State.

The legislation we are dealing with today was introduced after the Omagh bombing that brutally took the lives of 29 innocent people and injured more than 200 others. It was a brutal and cowardly attack, a terrible atrocity that reverberated throughout the island and shocked people everywhere. We had become used to nightly news bulletins about bombings in Northern Ireland and England but Omagh seemed different, we seemed to be entering an even more brutal phase. One of the women killed was born less than four miles from my home town in north Cork. Her sister and her had married in Omagh and on that fateful day she and her daughter, who was pregnant with twins, were killed. Many of us travelled from Cork to the funeral in utter shock and dismay that this could happen to one of our own.

Recently at hearings of the sub-committee on the Barron report, we heard from victims and relatives of victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. The pain and distress these people still feel is unimaginable. We are still told, however, that there is no emergency and no need for emergency legislation. This is despite the fact that five members of the Real IRA were sentenced to jail on Tuesday. The leader of the Real IRA in Munster was jailed for five years, his second-in-command for four years and three other members of an active service unit were given sentences of three and four years. One of these men is a former IRA man who was released from a ten-year jail sentence under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, another was the officer commanding the Real IRA in Munster and another was in charge of operational matters in Cork and Limerick. The other two were part of an active service unit in Cork.

The one regret we should have at this stage is that this legislation has not worked more effectively. The Garda report on the legislation shows, however, that most sections that we are renewing had some effect in the last year. A total of 376 people were arrested and 61 convicted in court, with 102 people still awaiting trial. Considering the murder and mayhem caused by a small active service unit in Omagh, by any measure, these provisions will prevent more atrocities.

As a democratic society we still have a long way to go. Human rights and civil liberties are a fundamental building block in any real democracy. For years subversive organisations have prevented the establishment of a truly just society where the laws of the land comply with international standards and are implemented in a totally fair and transparent manner. This can only happen when citizens no longer fear that the authority of their elected Parliament and Constitution is no longer threatened by terrorist organisations portraying themselves as republicans. Fine Gael, in these circumstances, supports the motion.

See this speech in context