Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

Tá áthas orm labhairt ar an Bhille tábhachtach seo. I welcome the opportunity to contribute on the topic of the new Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill.

As every Deputy in the House is aware, there is hardly a village in the country that has not been affected to some extent by drugs. I welcome the fact that all Deputies whose contributions I have heard, and, probably, all other Deputies, will support this Bill. It is one of the most important Bills that will have been passed for some time. I acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State, Deputy John Curran, and formally congratulate him on his re-election. While this Bill is sponsored by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, it deals with an issue that constitutes the biggest threat to our society at the moment, which is drugs. The Minister of State is playing an important role in introducing his new drugs and alcohol strategy, which we will all welcome.

Not since the 1970s and 1980s when we had the threat to the State from IRA activities have we had the need for special legislation to deal with a crisis such as this. There is nobody in Ireland who does not abhor the ruthless killing of criminals and also, unfortunately, innocent victims. As I go about my constituency canvassing with my local councillors and candidates, I can see that this Bill is very much in the public eye. People have commented on the necessity for it and they believe the detail of the Bill is needed to help gardaí in their important work. The Garda Síochána itself has been calling for it. Deputy Rabbitte mentioned yesterday that the Garda was not in favour of the provisions of this Bill. I do not think he really meant to say that because I know from speaking to the Garda Commissioner and from the gardaí in my own constituency that drugs are the biggest problem they face. The Garda Síochána wants to see this legislation enacted because it has not been able to get convictions due to lack of evidence and witness intimidation. If witnesses are intimidated they will feel less inclined to co-operate with gardaí because of the real threat to their lives and, unfortunately, to their families.

If we go back to the 1970s and 1980s, when the Special Criminal Court was brought in, we saw direct results whereby the courts were able to make convictions and take hardened terrorists off our streets. The peace process that followed was facilitated by our being able to deal with those people who, for a time, seemed to be able to go about with immunity, use arms and so on. The threat to our legal and courts system at the moment is of paramount importance. Deputy Connaughton referred to a young thug from Limerick who gave two fingers to gardaí, and to society, when leaving a court some years ago. The population at large is appalled to see such things. We do not expect that such people, whom I regard as scumbags, should be able to show disrespect for our court system. It is frustrating for the gardaí who have to deal with those individuals to see them walk out of court on some technicality or due to lack of evidence. Among the people I have spoken to, nobody wants to see such behaviour. Most genuine citizens regard it as appalling that young pups can show such disregard for our gardaí and our legal systems.

Many speakers yesterday were from the two areas most affected by gangland crime, Limerick and Dublin. While my own constituency of Dublin North has not had the same number of killings, there have been some, and bodies have been dumped in the more rural parts. We must pay tribute to the efforts of the Garda up to now. Despite the problems of presenting concrete evidence in court and witnesses not being forthcoming, it has succeeded in achieving quite a number of successful prosecutions. We must commend it for that. Once this legislation is passed, the Garda will be able to bring criminals to court in a much faster and more efficient manner. The sooner we can take these evil monsters away from society, the better.

Surveillance equipment has been used abroad for quite some time. If one watches not only television programmes, but even foreign news programmes, one will frequently see how courts have dealt successfully with hardened criminals. It is regrettable that Ireland is at this stage, but it is the reality. We cannot live with the situation any longer; we must make hard decisions and give the Garda the necessary facilities to enable it to do its work. We expect our police to be one step ahead of criminals. It is ridiculous that people can avoid prosecution on technicalities and, in particular, that they can intimidate witnesses and question the evidence gardaí produce on frivolous grounds. Unfortunately, our court system must deal in hard facts. That is why this Bill is so necessary.

The sad fact one realises when reading court cases and so on is that often the evidence is not sufficient, in legal terms, to convict a person of a crime. Under the provisions of this Bill, where a crime has been committed and every knows it has been committed - such as a tiger kidnapping, robbery or shooting - and where we have good surveillance equipment, the Garda will be in a position to achieve a successful prosecution. To judge from the way surveillance was used in the 1970s and 1980s against subversives, this new law will be a success. The Garda Síochána wants the extra resources because it needs to deal with drug barons.

Another area in which I feel surveillance will help is among the known contacts of criminals. When speaking to gardaí in my own area of Dublin North, and when I attend neighbourhood watch meetings and meetings of the joint policing board, with which I am involved, the gardaí will often mention that they know certain people are attached to a recognised criminal. It is galling from their perspective that they cannot apprehend those individuals. This legislation will strengthen the role of the Garda by enabling it to put such contacts under surveillance. Regrettably, when the leader of a gang is killed, there is always a replacement to step into that person's shoes. If the Garda eliminates those contacts who are second in command and so on, this will help to remove the drug problem in our society. Surveillance is an effective means of achieving that.

There have been too many innocent victims of gangland violence. This society can no longer tolerate a situation where a law-abiding citizen such as Shane Geoghegan in Limerick, who happens to look like somebody else, is shot dead. We must do everything we can to reduce the number of such incidents. There is nothing that sickens people more than the murder of an innocent victim who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Garda must be given whatever support it requires to deal with tit-for-tat revenge killings. Members of the various rival gangs are known to the Garda but without hard evidence, no action can be taken against them. This legislation will enable gardaí to be more proactive in this regard. When a gangland member is killed, one can be almost certain that a member of the rival gang will be killed within days or weeks. I have no doubt the Bill will facilitate the Garda in pre-empting such retaliatory killings.

It was good to see so many young people in the Gallery earlier. Parents must be far more vigilant in monitoring where their teenagers are and what they are doing.

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