Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

At the outset, it is regrettable if not shameful that the Dáil has a mere 40 minutes to discuss this important anti-terrorist motion. Indeed, the information circulated beforehand by the Minister's office is very weak and lacking in information. The Offences Against the State Act is extremely important legislation, reflecting as it does the ongoing battle the State has waged throughout its history against those who would seek to subvert the democratic process, thereby inflicting terror on this island. It is most regrettable, therefore, that renewing the legislative provisions should be treated by the Minister as something akin to a necessary inconvenience rather than an opportunity to brief the Dáil in a meaningful way on relevant matters.

I recognise that anti-terrorism operations are very sensitive and secretive by nature, but a broad overview of the effectiveness or otherwise of the legislation and the situation pertaining to the type of organisations that the Act in question seeks to tackle would not only be appropriate, but helpful. We are well aware that the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 was introduced in the wake of the Real IRA atrocity in Omagh which resulted in the death of 29 people, including a mother pregnant with twins. This month, in a landmark judgment, the High Court in Belfast declared that Seamus McKenna, Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly were responsible or liable in some way for the Omagh bomb. This case was the first time that any alleged individual terrorists had been sued individually for a specific terrorist act. As a result of the ruling, all other members of the army council of the Real IRA in August 1998 are liable for damages awarded to the relatives who fought the case.

The relatives of those murdered in Omagh turned to the civil courts when the criminal courts let them down. In this jurisdiction, we must ensure that our legislation is robust enough to tackle terrorism in a head-on manner. The nature of republican terrorism means that we face the same challenges as our counterparts in Northern Ireland. Working together is essential and I welcome the co-operation to date - I hope it can continue - even in the face of stringent cuts to Garda budgets.

I welcome the precedent set by the decision of the Belfast High Court and I hope it gives comfort to victims of terrorism everywhere. However, there is no substitute for a criminal conviction and we, as legislators, must ensure that our laws are robust enough to meet the terrorist threat. Although 11 years have passed since the Omagh atrocity, terrorism remains a serious threat. This is evident from official figures released by Europol which show that 52 people were arrested for terrorist-related activities in Ireland in 2008. Of the 52, some 49 were arrested for dissident republican activities, while three were arrested in relation to suspected Islamic terrorism.

The Europol report, entitled The EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2009, is particularly helpful as it provides us with a comparative international context. The report shows that Ireland had the fifth highest number of terrorism arrests in the EU last year. The number of arrests has jumped from four in 2006 to 24 in 2007 and 52 last year. While the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will no doubt argue that a rise in arrests is solely due to Garda diligence, we cannot avoid the inference that dissident republican groups are becoming more and more active in this and the neighbouring states.

Indeed, the report gives the breakdown of the dissidents arrested in 2008 as follows: some 28 were members of the INLA, nine were members of the so-called Real IRA. and four were linked to the Continuity IRA. The report said Ireland was one of just seven EU states which recorded a terrorist attack in 2008. In Ireland's case the blame was attributed to the INLA, an organisation which allegedly is in a period of ceasefire. The attacks are symptomatic of the INLA's involvement in the drug trade in this country, and in Dublin in particular. The ease with which the INLA was able to become a major player in the drug trade is a cause of some concern.

In March this year the INLA announced that it had stood down its entire Dublin brigade, including its leader, Declan Duffy. The statement went on to deny any INLA involvement in drug dealing, contract killings, tiger kidnappings and extortion. This was despite frequent reports of INLA involvement in such activities, and particularly its involvement in planting pipe bombs in relation to drug feuds. It has also been reported that the INLA manufactures pipe bombs and sells these to other drug gangs in this city and beyond. The involvement of the INLA in the drug trade has had disastrous consequences for this State and continues to do so. It has recently been reported that subversive prisoners in Portlaoise Prison are marching, holding parades and forcing prison staff to withdraw from certain landings. It is outrageous that criminals put in prison for paramilitary activity should be able to glory in their paramilitarism within prison and use their status to intimidate prison officers. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform argues that special conditions for paramilitary prisoners is long established but we are now in a different juncture in our history and it is high time that such special treatment was reviewed. The Minister should give the matter his close attention in the context of the current prison crisis.

I welcome the fact that Declan Duffy is currently imprisoned in Portlaoise and the reports that the INLA in Dublin is no longer on active service, although I doubt the veracity of this claim. I would like the Minister to clarify whether the INLA remains active in Dublin. I ask him to give the House his view on the threat the INLA currently poses to the State as a terrorist organisation and a significant player on the drugs scene. Does the Minister accept that the failure of his Government to deploy adequate customs resources to ports, along the coastline and to smaller and private airports has given the INLA a lifeline by providing easy access to drugs? The same applies to the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA. By failing to stem the tide of drugs flowing into the State, dissident republican terrorists have a lucrative area of activity to turn their attention to and perpetuate their existence.

Like the INLA, the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA continue to exist and, therefore, threaten the pillars of democracy in this State. Tom Clonan describes the Real IRA and its counterpart, the Continuity IRA, as "a nucleus of hardened criminals whose 'republican' pretensions are in the main a front for organised crime in the Border area and in some inner city areas north and south of the Border".

These individuals enjoy the power and prestige that comes with membership of a dissident republican organisation. It is widely believed that attempts by civil authorities such as the PSNI to tackle these gangsters and target their ill-gotten assets led to the recent flare-up of violence and murder in the North. Drugs and dissident republications clearly go hand in hand. Offences Against the State legislation will take us so far, but unless the Government agrees to dedicate the requisite resources to tackling drugs at the point of entry to the State, terrorist criminal gangs will continue to thrive.

I do not have time to go into detail on the drastic effects the €35 million cut in Garda overtime will have on the level of intelligence and Border security. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform's briefing note for this motion refers to the importance of a prompt renewal in the context of "the importance of these provisions to the Garda Síochána in countering the activities of a number of dissident subversive groups". Will this surveillance be hampered by a swingeing cut to the Garda budget? I am concerned about early retirements being encouraged by the Government at present to save money. The Garda representative bodies have warned of a brain drain being the likely outcome of early retirements and noted recently that of the 181 superintendents in the force, 101 were eligible to retire immediately if they so wished. At least 11 superintendents have retired already this year. A large spate of retirements within An Garda Síochána would have disastrous consequences in respect of expertise and experience and this is of great significance in the context of the renewal of the legislation.

I affirm Fine Gael's support for the renewal of the provisions before the House today. Fine Gael has always supported strong measures to combat terrorism and we continue to put the safety of the people of this island first. This issue is not aired frequently enough in this House. We need to deal with the problem of dissident organisations, including the INLA, the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA. Offences Against the State legislation can only be truly effective if it is complemented by a drive to tackle the availability of drugs to criminal gangs.

I ask the Minister to reassure the House that the consequences of Garda cuts and changes in personnel will not give rise to a reduction of experience and expertise that will allow terrorist organisations of the type envisaged under this legislation to flourish in our communities.

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