Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Costello as ucht a chuid ama a roinnt liom. It beggars belief that a Government which has been in place for ten years comes forward in the dying days of this Dáil with a Criminal Justice Bill that has massive repercussions for citizens' rights, many of which repercussions are not properly and fully understood because there is no time to have a proper debate and consideration of the proposals. For the Government to ram this through the Dáil after a few hours' debate is quite shameful. It is ramming it through because a general election is only weeks away.

The motivation for this Bill is for the Tánaiste and the Government to be seen to have some clothes with regard to tackling serious crime in this State and changing a situation of gangland crime about which many citizens are rightly concerned. The Government's motivation is extremely cynical. The Tánaiste, Deputy McDowell, has been like the pendulum of a grandfather clock in assessing gangland crime over recent years because he has oscillated quite wildly. A year or so ago gangland killing was the sting of a dying wasp. Now, some time later, he is swinging widely to the opposite extreme, warning that this is a very serious threat to society. He has introduced a cynical, opportunistic measure that could seriously affect innocent citizens rather than the gangsters against whom it is targeted. We must ask whether we have learned from the experience of our citizens in other jurisdictions, particularly Britain, in the Parliaments of which jurisdictions wide-ranging legislation was rushed through. Have we forgotten the cases of the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four, which resulted from wide-ranging, catch-all legislation?

Gangsterism, intimidation, killing and shackling young people to heroin addiction are heinous crimes that should be rooted out, and the perpetrators should be punished absolutely. We have a Government that for ten years has not had the moral force to create and lead a society free from these heinous crimes. The Government of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats has built its regime on a philosophy of private greed and facilitating the speculators and profiteers in the housing industry, whom it has enabled to assemble vast profits on the backs of ordinary working people trying to put a roof over their heads. Human needs, the need for shelter, a home and health care, have been made subjects of profiteering and privatisation by the Government, albeit quite legally.

This phenomenon is mirrored in the ruthlessness, greed and immorality of a subset in society who also have no scruples about walking over communities and innocent people to amass great wealth, but of course their methods include murder, extortion and intimidation. In their ruthlessness to garner wealth, their greed matches those whom this Government has facilitated and enabled to amass fortunes on foot of the suffering of ordinary people, although the methods of the latter are somewhat different.

The Government runs into the House with legislation that attacks traditional rights, such as the right to silence, and norms that were included in legislation for good reason over many decades. This points to a complete failure to deal with the fundamental issue of crime; to create a society based on justice and equality; to empower communities to root out anti-social and disruptive elements; and to resource community gardaí to work with communities, under the democratic direction of the latter, in regard to some of the problems I have outlined. The Bill reflects a complete failure on the part of the Government and it should not be lauded for it. Dá bhrí sin, críochnóidh mé ar an mBille. Tá sé náireach gur tháinig an Rialtas isteach anseo, cúpla seachtain roimh an olltoghchán agus deireadh na Dála seo, le Bille den tsaghas seo, atá chomh radacach maidir le cearta bunúsacha do shaoránaigh——

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