Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

What we have seen in 2010 is the continuation of gangland murders as criminals continue to fight over the incredibly lucrative drug market and other black market economies. These gangsters are willing to kill and are ready to die for control of their lucrative markets and profits. While I fully support the work the Garda is doing to combat gangland crime and drug dealing, it seems that as soon as it convicts a major figure, another crop springs up to fill the gap. Unfortunately, we are living in an environment where certain sectors of society have lost all regard for people's lives, never mind their property or right to security and a peaceful existence. What the citizens of this State demand from the Government is not the self-serving, self-congratulating counter-motion we have seen, but some concrete and realistic actions.

It is accepted that the drug plague spans all sectors of the socioeconomic classes and ethnicities, yet it seems those who end up in the coroner's office or in Mountjoy Prison almost invariably come from economically deprived areas. Why is this? This relates to the fundamental question of why we have a drug problem and gangland crime. Without trying to over-simplify the issue, it is because people from these areas have fewer opportunities in society. Why does society always respect someone who is successful and has pulled himself or herself up by the bootstraps? It is because that person has triumphed over an adversity with which the majority of people need not contend.

When the rest of the country was living through the rich economic times, there were parts of this city in particular where the largesse that was available to many did not connect. Unfortunately, my constituency of Dublin South-Central contains some of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in the country. It also houses the largest addiction centre in Ireland, which provides a service for addicts and recovering addicts from across the country. It is in these areas that the reductions in social welfare benefits will hit hard. It is these areas that will suffer most if the Government succeeds, for example, in driving its agenda of cutting the minimum wage. It is these areas that continue to wait in vain for regeneration of run down social housing schemes. A number are awaiting development, but there is no light on the horizon for them. The people involved are crying out for services and facilities that are taken for granted in other communities while the State pays developers' debts on buildings in Chicago, London and Bulgaria.

Everyone in the House is aware of the TV show "The Wire" and its stark presentation of the war on drugs and the intergenerational nature of drug dealing and drug addiction. I have spoken to teachers who tell me that they can make a pretty accurate prediction as to which of the children they teach in senior infants will end up in trouble with the Garda. Ingrained deprivation and a lack of economic opportunity result in poverty becoming intergenerational and thus creating an environment where criminality can flourish.

I fully support the Opposition party motion and would urge the Government to support it as well. Simply getting tough on criminals will not solve the underlying problems. We should be front-loading our educational supports to the youngest and most vulnerable children. We should ensure that children who are at risk are offered the same opportunities that the rest of the country takes for granted. We must offer a different economic narrative for these areas in order that criminality is not looked upon as a glamorous career choice or the only choice. We must provide regeneration to communities that have been neglected for decades to prove to people that the State considers them equal members of society that cannot be allowed to continue to live in deplorable conditions. We must address the deficiencies in the Garda Síochána structures as identified by the Garda Inspectorate, such as the lack of IT equipment in stations, the fact that civilianisation has not been achieved as proposed and that staffing levels have not been adapted to take account of the peaks and troughs in garda levels. We must end the easy availability of mobile telephones in jails that allows crime lords to continue running their operations from behind bars. More people seem to come out of jail as drug addicts than go in.

The sophisticated technology of gangland crime is a serious challenge. The brutality of the gangsters is also a major threat to civilised society. The Garda must be given the resources to match the ingenuity and the high-tech facilities of the gangs. The culture of the mindless gangsters must also be tackled through early intervention and family support. Unless we take a wider, more holistic view in tackling the issue of gangland crime and criminality, I fear the House will be discussing this issue in the years to come as one generation of criminals is replaced by another and the cycle continues. We need action sooner rather than later.

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