Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this legislation. We are all ad idem with regard to the need for respect for the law, for its integrity and for its strict enforcement. We agree in particular that we must ensure the law warrants respect and has an integrity for which the public has regard. I am the only Member here at present with no qualification in this area, but I read up on it from time to time. We live and learn.

An issue that has come to our attention in recent times is the situation with regard to victims. Victims, and the relatives of victims when the victim is no longer alive, are in a precarious situation because a life that is lost cannot be replaced. There can be no redress for that loss. There has been criticism of some victim impact statements in the past because people wonder why the statement is made when it can do no good at that stage. We must recognise that the family of the victim - mother, father, wife, husband or whatever - looks at the issue from a different viewpoint. While it may be all very well to be able to say a decision has been made on what technically and legally happened and the perpetrator has been sentenced to five years imprisonment or whatever, the victim's family and the victim, if he or she is still around, see things quite differently. We must recognise this. We should all think about how we would feel if we were in that type of situation and whether we would have absolute regard for the niceties of the law when phrasing what we had to say. I believe some of the statements that have been issued have been issued with great restraint, even though there has been criticism of them. I hope the Minister will keep this in mind.

It is generally recognised that a clever defence and careful thought in the preparation of a case can lead to a perpetrator getting a lighter sentence than might be the case in different circumstances. This must be borne in mind. It should never become possible for somebody to commit an atrocity, whether serious injury, assault, a killing or any such crime, and be able to walk away from the situation or attempt to get away with it on technical grounds. Such cases provide no relief for unfortunate victims. No matter on what technical grounds a case is dismissed, the fact remains that the offence took place. What respect is demonstrated for the law in such a situation? There has been absolute contempt for the law in this country for some considerable time. The greater and more serious the breach of the law and the more serious the offence against the person, the State or whoever, the greater the possibility of the perpetrator getting away with it. Some perpetrators have established almost iconic status for themselves due to the manner in which they have managed to evade justice.

I and others on this side of the House cannot understand how the area of organised criminal activity goes unchallenged. This activity continues even as we speak. Some criminals have established a kind of celebrity status due to the degree to which they have managed to intimidate the system, the community and ordinary people and get away with it. This cannot be allowed to continue. The Minister has introduced restrictive legislation, which I support, to tackle these issues, but nothing seems to have happened as a result. We discovered last week that some sections of a Bill have not been enforced at all. I expected serious criminals would be put behind bars and we would see the effect of the legislation within three or four months. What are we waiting for and why are we waiting? The information is available and the criminals are known to the Garda. I am sure gardaí have the information piled up. What is the reason for the delay? Are we waiting to process passports for them to enable them to leave the State rather than get caught? If we were to ask ordinary people about this, we would be made aware they have become very cynical about this kind of thing. They are asking us what is the reason for the delay in enforcing the legislation. Is it because, for some unknown reason, the State does not want to catch these people and does not want the trouble of that? Is it because it believes that if they keep shooting each other, there will be none of them left? This was the attitude in Chicago in the 1930s, but it did not work. The lack of enforcement is an appalling indictment of our system. Worst of all, it is an appalling threat to ordinary law-abiding citizens.

Generally I am aware of the intention of the Minister with regard to issues, but I do not know what the Minister has in mind on this subject. Sometimes I think he is bored by it or other times I think he feels he cannot do anything about the situation. Perhaps that is true. Sometimes I think the Minister feels the Opposition is a pain, and perhaps it is.

See this speech in context