Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I checked the definition of the word "liberal" in the library because the Minister bestows that title on himself. Do I also have to find a quote to support that or is the Minister satisfied with the description? The political definition of the word is one who is favoured to constitutional changes and legal or administrative reforms tending in the direction of freedom or democracy. From my observation of the 30 Bills the Minister has passed, he takes an illiberal approach to his office. While there may be some liberal intent, much of the Minister's legislative reform is highly illiberal. That is the most damning indictment of the Minister's Administration — saying one thing and doing the opposite.

What would a liberal approach to legislation involve? It would involve careful consideration of anything restricting freedom. Anti-social behaviour orders, ASBOs, were introduced without analysis or proper consideration. In contrast with the public discussion in Britain, ASBOs landed on the Irish political agenda without anyone in Government knowing about them, let alone anyone in the wider academic and social community. The Minister took an illiberal approach. One of the slices in the sandwich, a colleague of the Minister's from Fianna Fáil, will shortly explain ASBOs but I do not believe anyone in Fianna Fáil or the Progressive Democrats knew what measures would be implemented. That belies an illiberal approach to the development of legislation.

A liberal approach is one that recognises mitigating circumstances. Such circumstances cannot be described by a crowd that will always have the tendency to call for Barabbas. In our western democratic system set up under the liberal tradition, there is a role for the Judiciary to decide what is appropriate rather than legislators setting out mandatory sentences. The latter is an illiberal approach while a liberal approach is one that would examine the causes of crime and the threat of rising crime.

I agree that our crime levels are low in comparison with other states but the Minister's illiberal approach is the greatest threat to that situation. Policies of imprisonment and extensive Garda powers may lead to losing the trust that is behind our historical low levels of crime. We should address the drink culture that is promoted rather than restricted by the Government. We should address community factors in planning, one of the real checks on crime. One of the reasons we have had historically low levels of crime compared with other countries is that we had a strong sense of community spirit in this country. People knew others in the parish, what they were like and what one could and could not do.

According to the leader of the Green Party, Deputy Sargent, the worst legacy of the Government is that, despite the Taoiseach's espousal of Mr. Robert Putnam, the decisions it makes damage the community spirit upon which low crime levels depend. The Government is saying one thing and doing the opposite.

Our culture of low crime was based on the idea that money was not everything and one's personality counted for more than what one had. Perhaps the Fianna Fáil Member present will agree that this loss will be responsible for the rise in crime in Ireland. There is a sense that one must have a flash car, a flash house and flash clothes because under the Government a consumer culture has been espoused. The growing inequality that stems from the Government's political philosophy would be addressed by a liberal approach to reducing crime. The Minister is not a liberal, nor is he a republican. He seeks to encourage inequality rather than reduce it, saying one thing and acting in the opposite fashion.

See this speech in context