Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this important legislation. The only difficulties I have with it, like other speakers, is the length of time it has taken to come through the system and the fact that such a large volume of additions has been tacked on to it. This issue has been the source of debate in the House yesterday and today. It is absolutely impossible to give this matter any real consideration in a five or six-minute period, so rather than do that I will concentrate on a few issues.

When I spoke on the original Bill I referred to the anomaly of including the issue of firearms in the legislation. It is unfortunate that this was the chosen mechanism. The matter should have been dealt with by itself. The issue must be dealt with comprehensively and must include the matter of storage and training for those who are permitted to use firearms. We should not allow somebody to be in control of an ordinary shotgun without some degree of understanding and monitoring.

Crime figures have been the focus of attention in this House recently and I will not allow myself to be accused by the Minister of misusing his figures. However, the reality on the ground is what we see and in the Border region I represent, which is also represented by the Ceann Comhairle, the number of gardaí in the stations is minimal compared to the number there in the past. I welcome the peace process and all to do with it but if we are to treat it seriously and bring it to a final conclusion there is justification for a real involvement of manpower, be it at Garda or Army level, in that area.

I congratulate the Garda and the PSNI for the job they did on the Border in Armagh. The alternative small farm enterprise that has become so common along the Border is totally and absolutely unacceptable to me. Has the Minister worked out how much finance we are losing in taxes due to the diesel that is being cleaned? Would that money not be better used in providing the extra personnel to ensure that this matter is dealt with once and for all?

Let us consider what it would mean to the peace process if we could say that at last we had dealt with criminality. That is the real question as far as I am concerned. I want to see the Good Friday Agreement finalised. I want to see criminality from whatever side ended. There is no doubt that it happens on both sides. I also want to see Sinn Féin take an active part in the police force in Northern Ireland, as it is meant to do. Then we could solve for once and for all the issue of criminality along the Border. This is not the only manifestation of criminality that is at issue, people also cross the Border to raid shops and go back across it with impunity. That cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.

In the area I represent, from the far end of Cavan right along the Border, about two Garda stations are open 24 hours a day. I heard speakers refer to Tallaght having only one barracks, and that may be so, but while we have many barracks they are ones that have nothing but a green man at night. That is not much comfort to the elderly, shopkeepers or business people whose premises are being robbed and who cannot even go to Mass without being sure that when they return their houses will not have been robbed. Several cases of the latter type of robbery occurred before Christmas where people were obviously being watched. As soon as people left home, their houses were robbed.

The party to which I belong is committed to law and order and we will give this Bill every support we can, within reason. I urge the Minister to ensure that the committee is given sufficient time to properly scrutinise the amendments so that whenever the legislation comes before the courts, as it will, it will be found to be in favour of ordinary people, the victims and not the criminals.

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