Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for allowing me to raise this issue. Anybody who has not lost a child cannot imagine the grief that Steve and Carmel Collins and their family have gone through following the murder of their son, Roy. To have this grief added to by being forced to leave their city and country because of being afraid to remain is unimaginable. I acknowledge the work done by the Garda on this case over many years and the efforts made to try to avoid this.

The witness protection programme seems to have failed in this instance. While results were achieved, if the family is forced to leave the country is there a danger a signal will go out and other people who would want to co-operate with the Garda will not do so. I acknowledge the Minister's statements on this to date but we need to stand back and look at how we enforce the programme and examine whether further powers are necessary for the Garda to enforce and sustain the programme to ensure nobody else will be afraid of coming forward out of fear of having to leave the country.

The thought the State has paid €50,000 to a member of the McCarthy Dundon gang for a home will horrify many people, particularly in light of the news we received this week about the Collins family having to leave the country. The Limerick regeneration agencies paid this money because of the overall aims of the project. However, given the involvement of the gang in sustained crime throughout Limerick and the mid-west region it is the wrong signal to send out.

In his response, will the Minister confirm the status of the witness protection programme? How many people are involved in it on a macro level? We do not need the details. Will the Minister confirm whether it has been affected by the budget cuts to the Garda this year? What are the specific effects on the day-to-day running of the programme? Is the Minister aware of any other family involved in the programme which is being forced to leave the country on the basis of involvement in the programme?

See this speech in context