Peter Kelly (Longford-Roscommon, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Criminal Justice Bill 2004, which is extremely important. I commend the Minister, Deputy McDowell, for bringing the amendments to the Bill before the House. It is clear that we all want the most equitable and effective criminal justice legislation possible. Many surveys have shown, as if we needed surveys to tell us, that crime and law and order are sources of great concern for many. We owe it to the people to put criminals away. We should ensure that our criminal law can respond to crime in a way that retains the confidence of the public. It should provide a strong deterrent to those who seek to undermine the stability and good order of our society. Most of our citizens are law-abiding, good, decent and respectable people who want to live in peace and harmony. We should not allow the minority in our society to upset the majority. We should send a loud and clear message that crime does not pay and that there is no place for criminals in society.

The amendments proposed by the Minister will go a long way to meeting the objectives I have mentioned. Fianna Fáil has always been tough on crime. The Government has dealt with this issue in a tough manner since 1997. Crime of any kind cannot be tolerated and must be tackled head-on. Ireland's crime rate is very low compared to other western democracies, but that is not good enough. In 1995, with a population of almost 3.6 million, the crime level was at 29 per 1,000. In 2005, with a population of more than 4.1 million this rate had fallen to 24.6 per 1,000. As the Minister pointed out to the House, yesterday, based on the crime figures for 1995-96, we were heading for well more than 50,000 crimes per year if the previous Administration had remained in office for five years. This is unthinkable and only serves to highlight its ineptitude on the matter.

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