Cecilia Keaveney (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak. This is an important Bill. Some of what I hope to say echoes the views of my Border constituency colleague Deputy Crawford, particularly with regard to the bottom line of resourcing and dealing with issues which are as pertinent in Cavan-Monaghan as they are in Donegal, and no doubt other Border counties.

I have looked closely at the resourcing numbers. For many years we had a good situation in terms of Garda personnel. In my home town we had 29 gardaí, on the basis that we were in the Border region, with certain activity going on in Northern Ireland. Now we have eight gardaí and a sergeant, though people who live in the area see little difference to the former situation, except that there has been an increase in aggravated robbery. They do not see the peace process making a great impact on certain types of crime. We see more criminality in the area than ever before and the people there cannot understand why Garda personnel numbers do not reflect the crime problems they experience.

I have talked to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, to the Garda Commissioner, to the Chief Superintendent, to superintendents, to local sergeants and gardaí. I do not usually go straight to the top and I have been right around the block on this issue. Off the record, everyone agrees we do not have sufficient resources but when one asks a question officially, one is told that everyone has plenty of resources. The message from the people in my area is that they want Garda visibility. If those who tell us we have sufficient resources are correct, we want to see the gardaí out on the beat, and if we do not have sufficient resources, we want more.

I am not here to criticise the gardaí in all respects because they catch many people breaking the law. When they catch such people and they are brought to court it is important that people feel confident about corroborating evidence. It is also important that sentences reflect the seriousness of the crimes. I know there is a separation between the State and the legal profession just as there is between church and State. However, I cannot talk about a criminal justice Bill without saying that we need to consider the sort of sentencing we currently see. It must be asked if certain penalties are appropriate for certain crimes. If the answer is "yes", I am wrong, but if the answer is "no", then perhaps certain issues can be dealt with. I understand for example that the maximum fine that can be applied for anti-social behaviour offences is €350. If a person is earning the sort of income currently earned by many people, that sum is not a deterrent, particularly for a second or repeat offence. A more serious issue, consistency of sentencing, must also be examined.

I am living in an area with no 24-hour Garda station. The closest such station is in Buncrana, and the station there is badly in need of rebuilding. This should be done in conjunction with the Department of Social and Family Affairs which has a green-field site ready for use under the decentralisation programme. I hope the Minister will soon be in a position to announce the rebuilding of Buncrana Garda station because it is the obvious solution to a difficult problem. The situation whereby the only 24-hour Garda station in the area is in a run-down and dilapidated state does little for the morale of the Garda or of the people living there.

In my area of the constituency there is no 24-hour Garda station. I am not concerned whether there is a 24-hour station or 24-hour cover because I do not want to simply see personnel sitting in Garda stations. The problem in Inishowen is that we formerly had eight 24-hour Garda stations and now have one such station, though there has been no difference in terms of Garda visibility. We need 24-hour Garda cover in north Inishowen, a matter I have previously raised with the Minister. The Garda Commissioner responded positively on this matter so I hope we will be hearing an announcement about cover in the area in the near future.

The announcement of a Garda traffic corps may have been a response to the recent fatalities in the Inishowen area. This is another issue I have brought to the Minister's attention. We have had the most tragic and awful 18 months in my immediate area in terms of losing young people in car crashes. I ask anybody to attend the number of houses of the bereaved that were visited in our area. Inishowen is not like other locations in that most of the 30,000 people living there are related to each other. When a car crash occurs on Inishowen, members of the community are sure to know the people involved. The past 18 months have been horrendous and any attempt to address our problems, including the traffic corps, are welcome.

The corps has only been in operation for two weeks but it is already producing results. This pilot project, which lasts a few months, is not a public relations exercise but is intended to resolve issues such as sufficient staffing and expansion. The existence of the corps is not in question.

The majority of speed cameras seem to be located on national primary or secondary roads so they do not affect us because we do not possess such roads. This absence of national primary or secondary roads was the reason for the reduction of speed limits on all Donegal roads to the county road limit of 50 mph. That limit is not realistic on some roads which have hard shoulders and are straight enough to fulfil the criteria for a 60 mph speed limit. However, it will probably take a further 18 months to restore the 60 mph equivalent. Under these circumstances, members of the traffic corps can have lots of fun and fill the coffers with speeding fines by stopping soft targets who are travelling at 60 mph on roads where it is safe to do so.

Joined up Government is needed. The Minister will probably tell me that the functions have been decentralised to the council and it is the latter's responsibility to fast track the matter. From the start, I did not believe that all speed limits should have been reduced from 60 mph to 50 mph but that councils should have responsibility for reducing speed limits on dangerous roads. However, I did not win that one.

I often complain that people are penalised for driving at 35 mph in a 30 mph zone, while somebody passing at 90 mph is ignored. I hope the traffic corps will target people who drive dangerously or at extreme speeds rather than abuse the system. At present, the system does not work because of the blanket nature of the legislation.

Education and driver training programmes are needed to prevent further road deaths. In Northern Ireland, a driver is automatically tested for alcohol if he or she hits a cyclist. There should be mandatory breath testing when a fatality is caused and possibly in cases of serious injury. While I am aware that constitutional issues arise in terms of the presumption of innocence, such a measure has merit and is not dissimilar to actions taken in other areas.

Many crimes are linked to drug or alcohol use and much anti-social behaviour is conducted by people who are trying to feed habits or who are out of control. The Minister may claim that he is not responsible for rehabilitation centres, such as the White Oaks Centre in my constituency, because they fall within the remit of the Department of Health and Children. The problem is that, because they are nobody's responsibility, they do not receive recognition for their work. While not every person who drinks or takes drugs is involved with crime, many who commit crimes have problems with drugs or alcohol.

Recently, I tabled a parliamentary question on fireworks to the Minister and received the reply that the matter is covered by the Explosives Act 1875 which is to be amended. I was interviewed on the radio this morning and was asked why the current legislation is not being enforced. Current sentencing and fines, however, are totally inappropriate. Fireworks are not used for display in my area but as missiles that are fired at cars and into fields containing cows.

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