Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

My amendment to the motion shows the comprehensive measures which the Government has taken. I have time to mention just some of these in my contribution. Before doing so, I want to reiterate the Government's determination to continue to do all it can to take whatever measures are necessary to deal with gangland crime. All the better if we can do so with the support of the parties opposite, but we will do so one way or the other.

I continue to table significant legislative proposals. The Criminal Procedure Bill 2009, which is currently before the House and has been passed by the Seanad, gives effect to the measures contained in the Justice for Victims initiative. The Bill provides for reform of the law on victim impact statements and proposes to end the ban on retrying people who have been acquitted in specific circumstances.

Recently, I published the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Bill, which will see the establishment for the first time of a national DNA database. This year's Estimates include a sum of €4.1 million for the setting up of that database. This represents a major step forward in the fight against serious crime. It will give the Garda access to intelligence on a scale and of a quality that has never before been available. When the Bill becomes law, everyone who is arrested for a serious offence will be required to give a sample. Everyone serving a sentence for a serious offence when this law comes into force will also be required to give a sample. Analysis of this material will produce hits that may indicate a link between the person and other offences where that person was previously involved but no link had previously come to light.

We are also providing An Garda Síochána with the resources to tackle serious crime. There has been a considerable increase in Garda resources in recent years, with the number of attested members rising from 11,895 at the end of 2002 to 13,755 at the end of 2007 and 14,547 at the end of last year. Even in a year of budgetary constraints, there were two intakes of 100 recruits each and some 900 student gardaí became attested in 2009 with more attestations due in 2010. The combined strength of both attested gardaí and recruits in training as at 30 December 2009 was 14,779. In addition, there are more than 2,650 civilian staff in the Garda Síochána in a variety of positions such as administration and technical roles.

I was pleased to announce last week that, in consultation with the Minister for Finance, I had obtained approval for a significant number of promotions across all ranks of An Garda Síochána, notwithstanding the current moratorium in the public service. As a result, some 170 vacancies will be filled at various ranks in the force. This development will allow the Commissioner to allocate the necessary resources to senior management and supervisory positions throughout the force. I should point out that these promotions will be in addition to the filling of some key vacancies in the force in 2009, when two assistant commissioner, three chief superintendent and ten superintendent positions were filled.

There has been an unprecedented level of investment in the Garda over the past number of years to provide the necessary resources to protect communities around the country. The gross allocation for the Garda Vote for each of the past two years has been in the order of €1.6 billion. This unprecedented level of investment has not only facilitated the increase in Garda numbers to record levels, but has also allowed for the deployment of new state-of-the-art IT and telecommunications systems to support the Garda in its efforts to protect communities and tackle the scourge of gangland crime. A prime example of this is the ongoing roll-out of the new national digital radio system, which is now fully operational in the Dublin metropolitan and eastern regions. It will shortly be rolled out to gardaí in the southern divisions, including the cities of Limerick and Cork. The new secure digital radio system, which will be fully rolled out nationwide by spring 2011, provides a number of benefits to the Garda. It provides increased protection of radio transmissions from interception and eavesdropping, increased protection for garda officers on operational duty, coverage for air support and offshore operations, interoperability with other emergency services such as the fire, ambulance, customs and Coast Guard services, full integration with mobile telephones and land lines, data transmission, including text and images, and interoperability with other police forces such as the PSNI. As well as digital radio, the past three years have seen the introduction of new IT systems such as automated fingerprint and ballistics identification systems, a new automated number plate recognition system and significant enhancements and upgrades to the PULSE system.

I have been consistent and clear in my approach of prioritising expenditure on the fight against crime despite the criticisms this has led to from Members opposite. The Commissioner and I are determined that the resources available will continue to be directed towards front-line policing, which remains a high priority.

Those involved in criminal gangs are of keen interest to the Criminal Assets Bureau, which relentlessly pursues the assets of those who seek to profit and benefit from criminality. The House is aware of the CAB's successes but it is worthwhile reminding ourselves of just how successful it has been. In 2008 alone, the CAB obtained interim orders to the value of over €5 million and interlocutory orders - final restraint orders - to the value of over €2.5 million. It collected almost €6 million in taxes and interest and made social welfare savings of over €712,000 and recoveries of over €358,000. Since its inception in October 1996 and up to the end of 2008, the bureau has obtained interim and final restraint orders to the value of over €76 million and €38 million respectively. In the same period, taxes and interest demanded was almost €136 million, with over €124 million collected. If it were not for the concerted, ongoing and determined efforts of bureau officers on behalf of the State, this is money which would otherwise have lined the pockets of criminals.

The ongoing development and support by the CAB of the divisional asset profiler programme ensures that local knowledge can be combined with the bureau's expertise in stripping criminals of illegally gained assets to ensure that life is being made progressively more difficult for those who seek to profit from criminality and the consequent misery of others. There are currently 127 asset profilers in An Garda Síochána based in every county in Ireland, and this number will be reviewed in the light of changing needs and requirements.

It is also important to note that the CAB does not just target the most important or best known criminals - it has a policy of targeting the lower-value assets of emerging and mid-ranking criminals. I have spoken before in this House about how these low-level drug dealers are a constant source of concern to parents and community workers who are trying to keep young people on the right path. The CAB activities in this area offer the community a very visible and effective example of law enforcement confronting criminals and making life difficult for them. It is evidence of law enforcement activity which I am certain this House fully supports and endorses.

In the light of our experience of the operation of the proceeds of crime legislation and to ensure that the legislation remains a strong and effective deterrent to criminality, I have asked that the CAB and my Department review the law in this area. The review will look at areas such as decreasing the amount of time which must elapse before criminal assets which have been frozen become the property of the State; increasing the powers of receivers over properties so as to deprive criminals of the use of those properties immediately; the short-term seizure of assets believed to be the proceeds of crime pending determination of the courts; further improving arrangements for sharing information with similar organisations in other countries; and entering into arrangements with other countries where assets which are forfeited as a result of joint investigations can be shared.

An important aspect of front-line policing is community policing. Policing in local communities is a matter for all gardaí and not just those assigned to the roles of community policing. The total strength and number of gardaí dedicated to community policing who are specifically tasked with the duty of liaising with communities within their districts has increased considerably in recent times. The figures available at the end of 2009 show that there are 1,058 members of An Garda Síochána specifically assigned to community policing compared to the total attested strength of 14,547. At the end of 2007, only 630 members were assigned to community policing. The present number therefore represents an increase of 68% to the end of 2009.

The Commissioner and I launched the new Garda Síochána national model of community policing early in 2009. This new model is about renewing, reinvigorating and restructuring the community policing function within An Garda Síochána to deliver a consistent national structure and a more co-ordinated and efficient Garda service to the community. This model will provide a structured and cohesive approach to community policing on a national basis. I strongly support the concept of community policing but there is no point in pretending that, particularly in the area of gangland crime, community policing of itself is some form of panacea. The perpetrators have to be pursued and brought to justice and that will always be a core function of An Garda Síochána.

The motion refers to introducing a mandatory minimum life sentence of 25 years. I have difficulty with the concept of a life sentence expressed in years. Life sentences are already mandatory for any type of murder in this jurisdiction. A person who receives such a sentence is subject to that sentence for the rest of his or her natural life and has no entitlement to be released after serving a specified period of imprisonment.

Neither I nor my predecessors would contemplate the early release of a person convicted of gangland gun murders. I would be concerned that introducing a mandatory minimum tariff of 25 years as proposed would change the nature of the existing life sentence and seriously undermine the ability of the Minister of the day to safeguard public safety. A system that involves a minimum tariff would under the case law of the European Court of Human Rights impose a requirement for that person's continued detention to be subject to review by an independent body and as a result would take the decision out of the remit of the Minister, which no Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform would agree to.

A decision to grant extended temporary release to a person convicted of murder is not made lightly. A number of persons convicted of murder have served more than 30 years in prison and continue to serve their sentence in prison. To the best of my knowledge no person convicted of a gangland gun murder has ever been given extended temporary release and nor can I envisage circumstances where such a person would be given extended temporary release, as there would be a clearly posed threat to public order and safety.

The Irish Prison Service has been proactively engaged in an ongoing extensive programme of investment in prisons infrastructure, involving both the modernisation of the existing estate and the provision of extra prison spaces. Since 1997, in excess of 1,670 new prison spaces have been provided. Furthermore, current projects will see a further 250 spaces provided by means of a new block in Wheatfield Prison, which will accommodate around 250 prisoners, and the reopening of the separation unit in Mountjoy, which will provide an additional 50 spaces. In addition, work is expected to commence this year on a new accommodation block in the Portlaoise Midlands prison complex, which will provide 300 prison spaces. In the longer term, the Government remains firmly committed to replacing the prisons in the Mountjoy complex with modern prison accommodation at Thornton. This extensive prison-building programme speaks for itself and is in stark contrast to the failure of the last Fine Gael and Labour Government to provide any additional prison places during its term.

A major challenge facing all prisons is the need to prevent contraband, such as mobile phones, weapons and drugs, entering the prison. To meet this challenge, major initiatives have been introduced by the Irish Prison Service to modernise and enhance existing security measures. All persons entering our closed prisons are now subject to full airport type security screening using X-ray machines and scanning equipment. Body orifice security scanner, BOSS, chairs have been introduced in all closed prisons, and the high-tech chair enables the detection of weapons, phones and other contraband that are hidden by inmates in body cavities or on their person.

Efforts have intensified to ensure that prohibited items within the prisons are removed. Some of the security measures being used include mobile phone detectors, the use of modern cameras and probe systems which assist in searching previously difficult areas such as hollow chair or bed legs, underfloor boards and other cavities, and walk-through metal detectors at entry points to exercise yards to detect potential weapons.

A new unit was opened in Cloverhill Prison in 2007 to isolate serious criminal gang members on remand so as to stop them continuing to engage in criminality while in prison and exerting influence over other prisoners. A block in Portlaoise is also used for a similar purpose for sentenced prisoners. The Irish Prison Service is undertaking trials of three different types of mobile phone inhibition systems at three separate locations - Mountjoy and Limerick prisons and the Portlaoise Midlands prison complex. All three systems are currently undergoing a rigorous evaluation process which includes external independent analysis. Legislation was also introduced in 2007 to deal with unauthorised possession of mobile phones in prisons.

The Government takes the crime of human trafficking very seriously and is determined to ensure that Ireland remains an inhospitable place for those criminals who attempt to trade in the misery of others. The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 provides for very severe penalties of up to life imprisonment for sexual and labour exploitation, the removal of a person's organs and trafficking for the purpose of prostitution. The Garda has identified tackling trafficking in human beings as one of its priorities. A dedicated human trafficking investigation and co-ordination unit was established within the Garda National Immigration Bureau in January 2009 to provide advice, guidance and operational support for investigations where there is an element of human trafficking. The Garda authorities have placed particular importance on ensuring that its members receive training in the investigation of human trafficking, as well as in prevention and in the protection of victims.

The motion before the House tonight is, to put it at its most charitable, inadequate. Nevertheless, I welcome the opportunity it provides to discuss one of the most important issues facing the country. When the opportunism and shoddiness of the motion are left aside, the House can unite in sending a message to those who engage in gangland activities. The State, on behalf of the people, is determined that, however long it takes, they will have no hiding place and justice will prevail.

I commend the amendment to the House.

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