Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

The DNA database Bill is also coming, like Christmas. There is no provision for something like restorative justice, which would have been good. While we have had to wait a long time, many items are not included.

We can examine the legislation only in the context of what is happening in society. The situation regarding criminal activity is unattractive. While the Minister says headline offences, when looked at in a general context, have not substantially increased over a period, some of them have increased dramatically. In the past 12 months murders have increased by 47%, firearm offences by 20% and aggravated rape by 33% while drugs seizures increased by 20%. The drugs seizure increase is alarming because drug crime is out of control and the junior Minister with responsibility for it is unable to provide proper leadership, show commitment and provide the resources to get the national drugs strategy up and running again. It has lost its morale and is going nowhere. The situation is going from bad to worse.

The increase in gangland killings has been enormous since the Minister's infamous remark about "the last sting of a dying wasp" in October 2004 when we thought everything was under control. Since then gangland murders have increased to an inordinate degree. With what happened on the M50, the tragic killing of Donna Cleary, the explosive devices that have been deployed and the availability and use of firearms, including automatic and semi-automatic weapons, it is only a matter of time before some terrible tragedy takes place in the community. With the settling of minor scores through the use of firearms, Ireland will become something like we have seen in Hollywood mobster films. This is a real concern and it is important we be seen to take substantial action on it.

The detection rate does not encourage. As Deputy O'Keeffe said, the overall crime detection rate has decreased. Last year it was down 1% from 35% to 34%. We do not want it to go in that direction. I got some statistics from the Minister on the detection rate of serious crimes in my constituency and they make unhappy reading. Burglary is one of the major crimes that is increasing while the detection rate is decreasing. Only when one examines such statistics and sees the broader picture does one realise how bad the situation is in certain areas. Meanwhile the Garda is up in arms over the introduction of the volunteer Garda force and claims it is not properly resourced. The Garda does not have proper telecommunications, the promised 2,000 gardaí, stab vests or cars in proper condition, as we saw in today's newspaper reports on the recent tragedy. I hope many of the provisions will be useful — they are certainly logical and overdue.

It is time we had a firearms amnesty and sought to acquire all illegal weapons in the community. It should be made clear that those in possession of illegal weapons after such an amnesty will be hit very strongly with tough custodial sentences. I hope this will be the case.

I do not expect the amendment of the Explosives Act 1875 to have any effect on the possession of fireworks for sale because fireworks are readily available in Northern Ireland, where their sale does not constitute an offence. We have made no attempt to create a common policy for the two jurisdictions. Unless this happens, amending the legislation will not have any effect. Perhaps progress will be made when European standards are co-ordinated, as I understand is being proposed.

I am happy enough with the proposal to deal with organised crime in terms of conspiracy, matters pertaining to domestic law and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. It will be interesting to see how the provisions dealing with offences in terms of contributing or participating in criminal activity or criminal organisation and benefiting from a criminal organisation will operate in practice. It is time we began to target gangland criminal activity in a more focused fashion than is possible at present. I certainly hope the legislation will work.

I am not so sure about the amendments regarding the misuse of drugs and whether they will result in much progress. It certainly seems ill-advised not to alter the value of drugs that will warrant a minimum sentence of ten years, which value was set at €13,000 on the enactment of the 1997 legislation ten years ago. It seems it is necessary to distinguish, in the first instance, between hard and soft drugs, and also to have a threshold of value that would encourage judges not to find loopholes, as they seem to be able to do at present. That mandatory sentences have been imposed in only 4% of cases where they could have and perhaps should have been imposed under the legislation is not very satisfactory.

I fail to understand the argument for having a maximum sentence of seven years for the supply of drugs to prisons, irrespective of the quantity, given that there is a minimum sentence of ten years for possessing drugs to the value of €13,000. There is no logic behind the penalties for those two offences.

I am in favour of the establishment of a register of drug offenders. I like the idea of notifying victims on the release of an offender.

I welcome the provisions to have a statutory basis for the imposition of fines and to defer sentences subject to good behaviour. I am not sure how the restrictions on movement will work out in terms of electronic tagging. This has not been provided for sufficiently.

I do not have time to discuss anti-social behaviour orders, but it is very clear the Government has failed drastically to resource the implementation of the Children Act 2001. Having failed to do so, it must introduce a short, sharp solution, namely, the criminalisation of young people through the imposition of anti-social behaviour orders.

We need a package of legislation and resources that includes leadership and commitment. We have had very little in this regard to deal with crime in recent years. I hope we expedite the legislation in the House and that the Minister will take on board some of my suggestions and those of other Members in respect of providing the necessary gardaí, resourcing the Garda sufficiently, providing the necessary back-up and equipment and instigating real action in the not-too-distant future.

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