Niall Collins (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)

This debate is welcome. Unfortunately, it is also timely because of the tragic death of Shane Geoghegan over a week ago.

I knew Shane Geoghegan personally. He grew up in Patrickswell from where I came and where his family farmed. They moved later to Dooradoyle. I played rugby with Shane Geoghegan in Garryowen rugby club and togged out in the same dressingroom as he did more times than I care to remember. He was an upstanding citizen of this country and was never involved in anything he should not have been. He was hardworking, had a wide circle of friends and comes from a most respected family. Our community in Limerick has suffered a great loss because of his passing.

Last night we had a momentous occasion in Thomond Park. It was preceded by a minute's silence for Shane Geoghegan, as happened last Saturday before the Ireland-All Blacks match at Lansdowne Road. It is incumbent on all of us to ensure that we do not require to have any more minute's silence on occasions such as these.

We must focus and try to remain detached in order to figure out where we go from here and what we must do to deal with this situation as it evolves. There have been calls from all sides for extended powers. The word internment was used and there have been calls to bring in that type of legislation. I would support that, where at all possible. However, we must remain realistic and if the Attorney General states that such powers are not workable or practical, we must accept this.

I took issue with the right to silence. We have that right in this country although it has recently been amended and a court can now draw certain inferences when a person claims that right. If a person is subject to investigation for murder, should that person be entitled to the right to silence? People are posing that question to us on the street. There are complex legal issues involved but the public asks the questions and looks to us for the answers.

I welcome the moves made by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform with regard to the placing of covert surveillance on a legislative foundation. His intention to tackle the issue of handguns is also welcome. We must look more to multi-agency tasking, networking and co-ordination in the tackling of gangland crime. If one looks at the situation in Limerick, which probably mirrors that of other places around the country, the hardcore leaders of these gangs are targeting young people, children in their early teens. They are grooming them and in doing so they are assuming the role of parental responsibility. We must get the social service agencies into this loop at an earlier stage.

Last week the Garda Commissioner spoke at the Committee of Public Accounts and gave a very good account of the workings of the Garda. I do not wish to paraphrase what he said but concerning the witness protection programme, he said he does not require to have it on a legislative foundation. He was quite forceful on the matter. He called on society to get involved in tackling crime alongside the Garda Síochána. In this House we should take every opportunity to try to involve the wider community and should use our offices and the platform we have here as public representatives to encourage members of society to get involved in this way.

The Commissioner also raised the issue of handguns which the Minister is addressing. While I do not propose to take the Garda Commissioner's words out of context, he indicated that the legislative tools he requires are either available to him or in the pipeline. He did not state that resources were deficient but forcefully pointed out that sufficient resources were available to him. The Commissioner was questioned on these issues by Government and Opposition Members.

I compliment the work of the Garda Síochána in Limerick city and county, which have excellent detection and success rates. As a Deputy representing County Limerick, I am aware that the crime initiated by gangs in Limerick city affects the entire county. These gangs supply the drug trade in the county and many of them live in areas of the county outside the city. Many of the communities I represent are fearful that anyone in the county could suffer the same fate as Shane Geoghegan. This fate could befall anyone anywhere in Ireland.

The House should have a serious debate on some of the sentences being handed down in the courts because many members of the public believe sentencing is too lenient. I will return to this issue at another time.

On an issue to which Deputy Conlon alluded, the murder of Shane Geoghegan was an attack on middle Ireland. However, middle Ireland is the market for the gangs who supply cocaine, heroin and ecstasy. As with those who shot him, those who snort lines of cocaine, take ecstasy or use heroin, have Shane Geoghegan's blood on their hands.

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