Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I thank the Minister for his reply. Does he agree that such a huge increase in the use of firearms as we have seen recently is extremely alarming? There was an increase of 20% in the seizure of firearms in 2005 over 2004 and a 250% increase in the number of fatalities from firearms arising from gangland feuds etc. Now pipe bombs have appeared on the crime scene in north Dublin, not to mention the tragic shooting a couple of days ago of Donna Cleary in the same general area. This indicates that a substantial amount of dangerous weaponry is coming into the country which is linked to drugs and being used in a more indiscriminate fashion than could have been contemplated in the past. There seems to be very little that the authorities, including the Minister and the Garda Síochána, can do about it. It is causing considerable alarm in the public domain as citizens worry that this lawlessness and criminality is becoming commonplace. It has progressed from a very unusual occurrence involving few deaths a few years ago to widespread attacks on human life.

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