Dáil debates
Wednesday, 13 December 2006
Leaders' Questions
Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
No human rights were extended to Anthony Campbell yesterday, unfortunately. The public perception of the way the Government parties have acted on this issue is that they have either lost the bottle to do the business or they are not giving this sophisticated unit of the Garda sufficient impetus to do its job. Nobody can understand after ten years the failure to put away this drug baron, who was assassinated, and others. The former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Donoghue, as an advocate of zero tolerance, would have been completely apoplectic about a hell of a lot less than this. However, fewer of these crimes are being detected and no drug baron has been put behind bars over the past five years. If Government members know who these people are on the basis of the briefings they are given, why is it not possible for the security forces of this country to have Government backing to implement its primary responsibility to keep our citizens safe? Innocent people are being mown down as a result of internal gangland feuds involving drugs and greed. The Government's operations are not working. What new measures does the Taoiseach intend to take to ensure they work?
The question I asked earlier related to Baiba Saulite. Did the information given to the Taoiseach in briefings indicate whether Mr. "Marlo" Hyland was directly involved in her murder? It has been brought to my attention that the late Mr. Hyland was paying serious protection money to the Provisional IRA because of internal gangland feuds. Can the Taoiseach confirm, on the basis of evidence given to him through briefings by Army or Garda personnel, that the Provisional IRA was involved in the murder of Mr. Hyland or was associated with him in that respect? According to the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, that outfit is supposed to be extinct and not involved in further criminality. Do the Taoiseach's briefings extend to information that the Provisional IRA was in receipt of protection money from the late Mr. Hyland and may have been involved in his murder?
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