Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

Deputy Jim O'Keeffe is wrong in respect of one of his arguments. The Minister did not act tough at the end of last year in order to confront the gangland bosses but because of an electorate whose judgment frightened him. That is why he proposed the new gangland package which has turned out to be something different.

I am more comfortable with this section than I was with the original version. Like section 7, this is a considerably different animal than the original. I welcome the saver clause which the Minister has included. Although he denies it, he spent much of last year contriving to be at odds with the Judiciary. By uninviting himself to their Christmas drinks, he received great publicity and showed that he was the great man fighting the people's cause by being willing to forego his gin and tonic in the interest of the nation and face down his old pals and former colleagues. However, he cannot argue it both ways. He blamed the judges because the original mandatory sentencing on drug offences was not being implemented but the judges quite reasonably told him that if he wanted them to tighten the law by using opt-out clauses, he should provide for that. He is now including these opt-out clauses and although he will not be in a ministerial position to introduce them — the great irony is that he may become a judge himself — he will criticise the Judiciary for implementing the saver clause if it suits his argument.

Instead of an array of mandatory sentences to demonstrate the Minister's toughness, I welcome the narrowing of the range of offences. I especially welcome the removal of burglary and theft. While I am unsure whether aggravated burglary should remain, given that the threshold could be low for such an offence, the saver clause is that a five-year sentence is required, which means the offence cannot be trivial. We have moved from a one-year to a five-year tariff for offences, narrowed the offences listed in the schedule and provided for a saver clause to allow the judges to make their own discernment in each case, as is their constitutional right. I do not think, therefore, we have anything like mandatory sentences.

This Minister is good at building up a great battle by capturing the media but seems to lose interest once he has captured them. That happened in the case of the Garda Reserve.

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