Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)

I welcome the legislation but I do not welcome the manner in which it is being dealt with in the House. Once again, the Minister ran to the media before revealing the detail of the legislation to the Members of this House, particularly the Opposition spokespersons on justice. This shows that he has very little regard for the House.

Intimidation is certainly taking place in certain communities. There are areas in which people are living in fear and where gangs rule the roost. Those gangs must be taken on. Tragically, 16 people throughout the country - many of them in the greater Dublin area and Limerick - have lost their lives as a result of gangland activity this year. As Members of the Oireachtas, we have an obligation to do everything in our power to combat such activity. In addition to legislation, we must also ensure that adequate resources are provided. It is outrageous that, in 2009, only 50% of all Garda stations have access to e-mail. How will we take on gangland criminals and drug lords if such basic resources are not available? In the past two years, no new Garda cars have been purchased. Members of the force are obliged to take on gangland criminals who drive around in souped-up cars or armoured or bullet-proof vehicles. We are not putting in place the necessary resources to allow the Garda to fight gangland crime. That is the real difficulty.

Fine Gael has continually suggested that a new rank of community garda be created. That would make sense because there is a need to nip in the bud the type of activity to which I refer. If we do not proceed in this way, we will not deal with the problem. There must be a clear line of promotion within the force for community gardaí.

I welcome the legislation but not the manner in which it is being dealt with in the House. What is happening is typical of the way in which the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform operates. He uses the media to further his cause rather than relying on the Members of the Oireachtas.

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