Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I do not oppose this amendment but I require some clarification from the Minister. The amendment refers to section 70 of the 2006 Act which was debated at length in the last Dáil. How many cases have been brought referring to this section? What were the difficulties with the section that gave rise to this amendment?

Section 70 of the original Act described a criminal organisation as:

a structured group, however organised,that—

(a) is composed of 3 or more persons acting in concert,

(b) is established over a period of time,

(c) has as its main purpose or main activity the commission or

facilitation of one or more serious offences in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit;

Why is it necessary to add to the definition? Where stands the interpretation of section 70? When was it brought into force? When was it referred to in criminal trials and how many times? Does the Minister regard section 70 as successful in bringing gangland figures to justice, which he has often stated as the aim of this legislation? I do not wish to oppose the amendment but do wish to ascertain the rationale behind it.

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