Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I agree with Deputy Kenny. The Labour Party will not agree to the guillotining of the Bill, which is being introduced here to take the medical card from pensioners.

I join Deputy Kenny and the Taoiseach in expressing sympathy to the family and friends of the victim of the awful shooting in East Wall, Mr. O'Kane. I appreciate that the Garda investigation is under way. No one here wishes to say anything to compromise that or a subsequent trial, but elements of this case suggest that anti-social behaviour has morphed into violent gun crime.

The programme for Government contains a number of specific commitments in respect of anti-social behaviour. We were to get a regime where stay away orders were to be introduced, banning orders that could ban people from particular areas, new provisions in respect of parental responsibility and anti-social behaviour teams established. Nothing has been done about any of these promises made in the programme for Government. Six or seven criminal justice Bills are listed for publication and it would be helpful if the Taoiseach or the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform could say something about what is happening to the commitments the Government gave about strengthening measures to deal with anti-social behaviour in the programme for Government and whether these will see the light of day.

See this speech in context