Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)

It is clear that Government platitudes and promises made to date have had no effect in dealing with this grave threat to our society. The Government policies that have led to an absence of gardaí on the ground to interact with citizens in their communities have created a vacuum that has been filled by thugs who have no regard for authority or for their fellow citizens. The Government's response has been to effect some changes to the law but this has had little or no effect as clearly, gangland murders are on the increase as society breaks down in parts of the country. These thugs believe themselves to be above the law because so many of them have got away with murder. Even when caught, they are made into macabre celebrities who make headline news and tabloid front pages. Court appearances now are used to enhance their street credibility. The Government has presided over the degeneration of society to such an extent that thugs and murderers become heroes among their peers. This is a society in which the Garda Síochána has lost all respect in those communities in which gardaí cannot now enter to police unless they are armed and in large numbers and in which there appears to be an unending supply of unlicensed firearms and prohibited drugs available to whomsoever wants them.

There can be no doubt but that the Government and the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, have failed in this regard. However, I remember in particular another Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who spoke of the last sting of a dying wasp. Now however, we have a thriving swarm of sworn killers and pathological murderers who kill without remorse. This is not a situation the Government can blame on international events that are outside its control. It has presided and continues to preside over a society that is disintegrating in parts. Families grieve while Ministers wring their hands and propose platitudes. These thugs are terrorising the good people of Ireland and are getting away with it. The only group that has responsibility in this regard is the Fianna Fáil-led coalition and its policyless strategy.

As the laws have been passed and the judges and courts are in place, why is the Government unable to use them to good effect? The obvious answer is that the Government has so mismanaged the people's Garda Síochána, which protects us as citizens, that the force has lost touch with the people on the ground of whose peace they are the guardians. The Garda is without that valuable local intelligence and its absence from areas in which large numbers of people reside has dislocated it from the very people it exists to protect. This is gangland warfare with criminal thugs on one side and armed members of the Garda emergency response units on the other. While life sentences already exist for serious crime, the Garda requires evidence to convict those thugs who are caught and to acquire such evidence, the force must regain the respect and support of the good people who live in the areas in which criminal gangs now are in control. The Garda must retake such estates by deploying on the ground and this will require numbers and resources. Had the Government not squandered billions of euro, it would be possible to take back such estates from the criminal gangs and win this war. Instead, experience and expertise are haemorrhaging from the force. Apparently, overtime has been banned and days off in lieu are being offered in exchange. Instead, days on should be required to fight such subversion of law and order on behalf of the good people of Ireland. Moreover, the sentences should be increased by all means.

I wish to touch on two further aspects of this issue, the first of which pertains to the education of children in such areas and the provision of services, social workers and gardaí. There is an opportunity to provide extra pay to the civil and public servants who work in and can affect those areas. It is inconceivable that a garda of a particular rank in a sleepy area in the country gets the same pay as gardaí who take their life in their hands going into those areas. The same is true of teachers and social workers. The problem escalates and the Fianna Fáil Minister does not know what to do. How much longer do we have to witness this abject failure and hand-wringing while the young people of Ireland die on our streets and lives are destroyed by guns and drugs? It is a shame on this Government which should resign if it has any sense of moral responsible. Any Minister or Government which allows this to happen to such a level to a generation has no business being in office. Let us get on with it.

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