Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

A number of points were made by Deputy Rabbitte. He said that the prosecutions do not always produce results in court. That is a matter for the courts based on the evidence provided. However, we should give credit where it is due. Yesterday, we saw the conclusion to a serious murder case in Limerick which occurred some time ago when a night security worker was executed by a hit man on behalf of some gang. That case was resolved yesterday, which was a major achievement for the Garda. Today we have seen a major drug pusher arrested in Belgium. I have outlined the figures for Garda seizures of firearms and drugs and arrests for murder, robbery and the theft by gangs of high powered vehicles. We have seen the Garda crack down very hard on those gangs. The Garda is well aware of who is involved in the two gangs in the south-west Dublin murder and is making a major effort to close down their activities.

To paint the picture that Deputy Rabbitte does is not justified. We need to support the increasing numbers of gardaí through giving them resources and assisting them in every way possible. The law-abiding public is doing more and more in this regard. However, drugs are a lucrative business and attract very dangerous people. I do not have time to go through the legislation but we have provided all the legal powers possible on the Statute Book and in the Criminal Justice Bill to deal with these issues.

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