Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. This Bill is long overdue. In the wake of the murder of Shane Geoghegan we understood that this covert surveillance legislation would be forthcoming and now five months later and just after the terrible murder of Roy Collins it is being introduced. Many years ago when Deputy John O'Donoghue was the Fianna Fáil spokesman on justice, he spoke about zero tolerance. It is critical that these criminal gangs are taken on and it is ensured that law-abiding people feel safe because at the moment many people in Limerick do not feel safe. We must ensure that this legislation is enacted. Regulations are required for sections 7 and 8, for approval of surveillance in cases of urgency and the use of tracking devices and these sections must be considered on Committee Stage. These regulations, which will enable the Garda Síochána to proceed with proper covert surveillance, need to be brought in as soon as possible and any issues can be ironed out on Committee Stage.

The Garda Síochána is already involved in gathering evidence by means of covert surveillance but it is not admissible in a court of law. When this legislation is enacted, at the discretion of a District Court judge, the current legislation governing surveillance by the Garda Síochána could be considered with a view to being admissible. The Garda Síochána is already doing the work on the ground carrying out covert surveillance. We must enable the Garda Síochána to carry out its work which has been fantastic in Limerick in particular. They have gathered evidence by surveillance but it is not admissible in a court of law. I hope to raise this issue on Committee Stage and ask the Minister to consider it.

The video evidence of the interviewing of suspects by the Garda Síochána, which is not currently admissible, should be allowed as evidence in a court of law. A judge should be allowed see the video of an interview as it is a transparent means of gathering evidence.

I can talk knowledgeably about my own constituency of Limerick East. People want this issue dealt with. Regeneration projects are under way in the city but people living in those areas and in the wider city want the issue of gangland criminality dealt with. Innocent lives are being lost and gangland criminals are operating as if they are above and beyond the law. They have no fear about murdering people and think they will get away with their crime. This legislation should be applied to prevent people being murdered. I understand the Minister is carrying out a review of the bail laws. There should be no bail for murder and no bail for those caught in possession of a firearm. A person caught in possession of a firearm means to do harm and we cannot allow people to be out on bail. Murder should carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years, possession of illegal firearms should carry a sentence of ten years and automatic remission of sentence should be abolished with remission based instead on good behaviour. If evidence gathered by covert surveillance is to be admissible in a court of law, it is extremely important that the Director of Public Prosecutions is given the resources to deal with this additional work and the cut of 3% in the budget needs to be re-examined.

Membership of a criminal gang must be made an arrestable offence. I note the Minister has given an assurance that he is currently preparing proposals to this effect for Cabinet. The use of the Special Criminal Court must be considered. We need preventative measures. The leaders of these gangs are drawing younger people into the gangs and being a member of a gang is becoming a status symbol which is something it should not be. We must put these people out of circulation so that ordinary law-abiding people can live in their communities free of worry for their children, their parents and themselves.

There must be a review of the juvenile court system. The waiting times are too long. Young people are coming before the criminal courts a full year after a crime has been perpetrated and they may have moved on to committing more serious crimes. Resources must be put in place. Most of the gangland activity in Limerick is fuelled by drugs, greed and money and by heroin in particular. Heroin rather than cocaine is the growth drug in Limerick. An extra patrol boat is needed because there is only one patrol boat and one mobile scanner to cover the whole coastline. Once the drugs come into the country they will get to the cities and to areas like Limerick.

I have a worry about the numbers of gardaí in Limerick. A total of 40% of the members of the Garda Síochána have less than four years service experience and this is a worry. The knowledge to deal with gangland crime comes with experience and cannot be learned from a textbook. I commend the gardaí and detectives dealing with gangland crime in Limerick. They have years of experience. It is critical that these people are encouraged to remain in the service so that they can use their expertise. My worry is related to the embargo on recruitment and the taxation of gratuities which has been proposed in the budget. We cannot drive people out of the Garda Síochána because we need them to stay.

I welcome this legislation. I want it to be enacted and the Garda Síochána given the resources. I want people in Limerick to feel something practical is being given to the Garda to deal with gangland crime. As I mentioned earlier, the surveillance evidence already gathered by the Garda at the date the legislation comes into operation should be allowed to be used in a court of law at the discretion of the judge. That is critical. The regulations must come into being as quickly as possible in terms of enacting sections 7 and 8. We must bring in legislation that will make membership of a crime gang an arrestable offence and we must use the Special Criminal Court.

People might regard these measures as extreme but in recent months two innocent people have been killed. Shane Geoghegan was innocently returning home from the Canada-Ireland game and Roy Collins was going about his daily work in his business with his family. The Collins family upheld the law, and their son has been murdered for that. We, as a society and people, must act, show solidarity and bring in legislation to enable the Garda Síochána to deal with gangland crime and ensure these people are brought to justice. We need to bring in other measures such as denying bail to those caught in possession of an illegal firearm or accused of murder. We must increase the penalty for murder to a mandatory minimum of 25 years — it is currently approximately 15 years — and the penalty for possession of an illegal gun to ten years.

Limerick is a great city. The people who live throughout Limerick city are fantastic, sporting people. My colleagues will also know that. The problem is a certain criminal section which is a serious threat to the local communities in the city. We must deal with the issue. This legislation goes some way towards doing that but we must make membership of a criminal gang a criminal offence and I look forward to the proposals in the legislation the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, will bring before Cabinet and the Dáil as soon as possible.

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