Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

I am greatly honoured to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I very much welcome the Criminal Justice Bill to the House. It is unfortunate that it is too little, too late, however, based on what we have seen in the recent past. Matters have got out of control.

I am very disappointed that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is not in the House. I know he cannot be in the Chamber all the time. Nonetheless, there are Ministers of State and I am disappointed they are not here, which is no reflection on the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley. The Minister or Ministers of State in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform should be here to listen to the contributions from Members. That would give them a flavour of what is happening locally. I know the Minister has had his officials in the House but it is a disgrace that no political representative of the Department is present. There are enough of them.

Nonetheless, I very much welcome the Bill and the measures that will seek to address the problems which we are experiencing in upholding law and order. The events of last Saturday night and Sunday morning are just another example of the frightening disregard that gangland criminals appear to have for law and order within civil society. These people are absolute scumbags and no jail sentence is good enough for them. I say that deliberately because the people involved in that shooting on Saturday night and Sunday morning are the lowest of the low, the scum of the earth. It maddens me to think they would not give any statement when brought into the Garda barracks. They are cowards, as well as being scumbags in that they are covering up for each other as part of the whole drug culture.

We saw the shooting of that innocent woman a few weeks ago. What happened then and the events at the weekend are examples of what is occurring in this city every night of the week, except that it is not being seen because the gardaí are not in place. People are being threatened with gunfire and all the other types of criminal activity occurring within the city relating to drugs.

The drugs problem has got out of control. While reluctant to blame anyone in particular, I believe this Government is largely responsible. I recall being interested in politics in the years 1994 to 1997. The then Minister for Justice, Deputy Nora Owen could not do anything without Deputy O'Donoghue jumping up and down like a Jack-in-a-box. It is all right for Deputy O'Donoghue, now in Cabinet, to see what is happening, with matters today ten times or even 100 times worse than when Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left were in Government from 1994 to 1997. He was in every newspaper and on every radio and television station blaming Deputy Owen for what was happening. That is a far cry from what we see today. I hope the measures in this Bill will be effective in the fight against organised crime. However, I cannot help wondering whether it is too little too late. I strongly believe that the Minister should have taken serious action before this.

On the issue of firearms, there is no doubt that their ready availability is the major contributory factor to the increase in gun related crimes. Increases in fines and penalties as well as minimum sentences for certain types of offences should be forthcoming. I am convinced the regulation of the guns in circulation is vital following two unfortunate and regrettable domestic situations in my town in the past two weeks, where guns were at the centre of both incidents. There is a need for much more stringent controls on the possession and ownership of guns.

Guns are readily available. I know the X-ray screens are operating at Dublin Airport, but they are not just coming in through the airports, but also the ports. Where are people at the centre of the drugs culture getting their guns from? They are getting them from across the water and bringing them into Ireland. The power and control allegedly being exercised by organised crime and its bosses is frightening. What is even more frightening is the notion that they can extend their fields of influence beyond their own areas and widen their net. In my constituency, especially in the Gorey area, the drug culture has increased greatly in recent years because of the massive population build-up. I blame the lack of gardaí locally for this.

I received figures this evening from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform concerning the numbers of gardaí in my constituency. The rise in the population does not correspond proportionately to the increase in the numbers of gardaí. There is a significant population, especially in the Gorey area, and five or six extra gardaí since 1997 is nothing for the Government to gloat about. Thousands of people have moved into the Gorey and Enniscorthy areas. Two extra gardaí have been allocated to the latter area since 1997.

I tabled a further question to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on how many extra gardaí we will receive in County Wexford from the promised extra 2,000 gardaí. He replied the Garda authorities are happy with the Garda figures in Enniscorthy, Wexford, Gorey and New Ross. When I spoke to the superintendent he told me he was not happy and that he is constantly seeking extra gardaí but he cannot get them. The lack of gardaí is a major contributory factor to the increase in drugs, gun crime and so on. The situation has gone completely out of control.

I welcome the moves to tackle anti-social behaviour. I held a public meeting on this subject in the summer of 2005 at which I heard horror stories from the people who attended. I wholeheartedly agree with Deputy Ardagh. People in upper class housing estates blame people from local authority housing estates for problems that occur but this is not always the case. In many cases people from upper class housing estates go to other housing estates to congregate and get involved in anti-social behaviour, be it in regard to drugs, underage drinking or whatever else.

Fine Gael has made some radical proposals on anti-social behaviour and the Government should take on board some of them which are based on consultation with the public. Fine Gael's public representatives organised meetings on anti-social behaviour right across the country. It was not afraid to listen to people's concerns. The Minister has not listened to the genuine concerns of people on the ground, be it in regard to anti-social behaviour, crime, drugs, robbery and so on.

I received some additional figures on crime this evening. It has been stated that the number of detections are up. In 2000, 335 headline offences were recorded in the Enniscorthy area and detections followed in 160 cases. In 2005, there were 575 recorded headline crimes and 251 of these were detected. How can the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform state the number of headline crimes is down and the number of detections is up? He is not telling the truth. The same is true of the Gorey area where 486 headline crimes were recorded in 2000, of which 229 were detected. In 2005, 902 headline crimes were recorded there, of which 411 were detected. Less than half the crimes were detected in both years. The Minister can blab about what he is doing and not doing but it would be more in his line to address the problem.

I am delighted to have been able to contribute to this debate. I hope the second part of the Bill will go some way towards decreasing the rise in the drugs culture and the number of shootings.

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