Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

It is difficult to get in when the Minister is in full flight. He asked us to consider his track record. We will certainly do that. The 2,000 gardaí have not arrived and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, who holds the purse strings, stated they will not arrive until 2008.

We will consider the Minister's track record on gangland killings, which is the focus of this question. Only 12 months ago, the Minister delivered the famous line that it was the dying sting of the wasp. We have had a threefold increase in killings in the past 12 months. Obviously there is no track record there. We are getting worse rather than improving.

Does the Minister accept that all this crime is fuelled by the fact that drugs are rampant and rife throughout the country because vast profits can be made, and feuding parties exist to defend patches because they are so valuable? We have young millionaires prepared to pay any price to ensure their line of supply is maintained. That is what is happening. It is a simple problem and the Minister has not recognised it yet. The people in question must be put out of business. They have increased threefold the number of killings they commit.

Will the Minister tell the House what level of resources this new unit of 50 gardaí will have, given the Garda Commissioner stated it takes 5.2 gardaí to do a 24-hour shift? How many gangs will it be able to put under surveillance? How will the Minister ensure the conviction rate increases from 12% to the 85% rate for the same type of crime in Los Angeles, California? This is a crime that can be dealt with. It is the Minister who is not dealing with it.

What the Minister produced yesterday is a relaunch and reheating of proposals he launched five or six times already during the past 18 months to two years. We want action. Will the Minister convince the House that he means business this time, that he is not merely paying lip-service, talking or articulating because it sounds good, and that he will deliver for the first time on these critical issues?

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