Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

The Minister's change of heart on this issue restores my faith in the parliamentary process. If we provide for minimum mandatory sentences in legislation we should provide for sentences that are in fact minimum and mandatory. In the past we provided for sentences that were alleged to be minimum and mandatory but in effect, because of the exceptional circumstances escape clause, those sentences were neither minimum nor mandatory. The escape clause was applied in virtually all cases until recently and even now in approximately 80% of cases.

I have always had a strong belief in judicial discretion but when it comes to the use of firearms we must weigh up the public interest. That is why I came up with this proposal on behalf of Fine Gael that whatever about the possibility of exceptional circumstances on a first offence, which one could envisage, there could not be such a possibility on a second offence. A person who got away with it, so to speak, under exceptional circumstances on a first offence would have received sufficient warning that he or she was teetering on the edge of a minimum mandatory sentence if he or she again had anything to do with firearms.

If we are to confront the scourge of firearms in our society, this is the tough line we must take, even where criminals shoot and kill one another. We can neither accept nor condone such acts. There is an attitude that in this way one useless part of society gets rid of another. I do not see it like that. There is a value in every life. There is too the danger of overspill from the criminal fraternity giving rise to appalling situations, such as the case of Donna Cleary.

The Minister also rightly mentioned our expectation that the Garda Síochána, which is mostly unarmed, defends society in difficult and perilous circumstances. We must be sure that if its members are confronted and sometimes wounded or killed by criminals with firearms, the consequences will be serious. I am glad that the proposals I made on behalf of Fine Gael have been adopted and incorporated in the new Act.

We must send out a message that these new measures are in place and anybody who possesses or uses firearms with intent to endanger life, or is guilty of the other offences provided for, will be in great difficulty if he or she already has a conviction or if there is the possibility of two convictions in the future. When the Minister deals with the amnesty provisions, which I support, he should simultaneously issue due warning, through the media and otherwise, of the consequences for those who ignore the amnesty. Some of the hardened members of our criminal community will do.

See this speech in context