Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann resolves that section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 (No. 32 of 2009) shall continue in operation for the period of 12 months beginning on 30th June, 2012.

This resolution will provide for the continuation in operation of section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 for a period of 12 months from 30 June 2012. Let me briefly remind the House of the background to the 2009 Act, lest anyone believe it was an overreaction to a non-existent threat. At the time there had been an increase in the level of organised crime. Organised gangs had shown a particular ruthlessness in their activities, including attacks on witnesses and intimidation of jurors. As a result the Garda was encountering difficulties in persuading people to give assistance in their investigations. The complete disregard which these gangs showed for human lives threatened to subvert the entire justice system. In the circumstances, it was imperative that the State take the necessary steps to ensure the criminal justice system was sufficiently robust to withstand the assault launched upon it through intimidation of and violence towards witnesses and jurors. The measures contained in the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 were designed to tilt the balance firmly in favour of the rule of law and justice and to instil confidence in all that criminal gangs were not going to be permitted to frustrate criminal investigations or prosecutions of their activities.

In view of the very real threat these gangs posed, the Act provided for a limited number of specific "organised crime" offences to be prosecuted in the Special Criminal Court. The proposal to use the Special Criminal Court for a limited number of organised crime offences removed the possibility of jury tampering or intimidation of jurors.

The purpose of section 8, therefore, is to ensure that organised criminal gangs cannot interfere with the criminal process to determine the outcome of cases. To this end the section declares that the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice and the preservation of public peace and order, in respect of certain offences. The offences in question are the organised crime offences under Part 7 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. In brief, these offences are directing the activities of a criminal organisation, referring to section 71A of the Criminal Justice Act 2006; participating in or contributing to certain activities of a criminal organisation, referring to section 72; committing a serious offence for a criminal organisation, referring to section 73; and, liability for offences committed by a body corporate, as in section 76.

Section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 makes these scheduled offences for the purposes of Part V of the Offences against the State Act 1939. Although this means the Special Criminal Court will hear prosecutions for the offences in question, the Director of Public Prosecutions may still exercise his power to direct that the offences should be tried in the ordinary courts. I believe that permitting the DPP this discretion maintains the fundamental balance in deciding which cases are appropriate to be tried in the Special Criminal Court. A further bulwark in maintaining this balance is provided in section 8(4) of the 2009 Act. This provides that the section shall cease to be in operation unless a resolution has been passed by each House of the Oireachtas resolving that it should continue in operation for a further period, to be decided by the Oireachtas. I reiterate, that is the purpose of moving today's resolution

In order to enable the House to decide on the continuation of section 8, subsection 6 provides that before a resolution to continue section 8 in operation is passed, the Minister for Justice and Equality shall prepare a report, which shall be laid before both Houses, on the operation of the section in the period under report. The report, covering the period from 1 June 2011 to 31 May 2012 was laid before both Houses on 8 June 2012.

My reasons for seeking the renewal of section 8 are clear. Organised crime continues to present a significant law enforcement issue, with a number of criminal gangs continuing to engage in serious crimes. Unfortunately, there is plenty of evidence showing the willingness of the these gangs to engage in murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, drug smuggling, counterfeiting and other serious offences. Given the nature of organised crime, the investigation and prosecution process can be lengthy and difficult. This is particularly so given the insidious power that criminal gangs hold over their members and, regrettably, within the communities in which they live. The 2009 Act has been in operation for more than three years and while there have been arrests under the relevant sections of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 no cases have yet come before the Special Criminal Court in accordance with section 8. This does not, however, invalidate the reasoning for having such a provision available for use in appropriate circumstances. The use of the Act to date serves to highlight the considered approach of the Director of Public Prosecutions and vindicates the way in which the provision is constructed, allowing him to exercise his discretion to direct that cases be tried in the ordinary courts.

In his report to me on the operation of section 8, the Garda Commissioner is of the clear view that this provision is likely to be required for some time to come. As Minister for Justice and Equality, I must have the utmost regard for the views of the Garda authorities in matters such as this. It is absolutely essential to ensure that gardaí have at their disposal the best possible range of powers to face up to organised criminal gangs. In that context, and in keeping with an undertaking I gave last year when this matter was being considered, I have asked my officials, in co-operation with An Garda Síochána, to examine ways in which the legislation might be improved.

In the period under report, there have been a total of 38 arrests under the relevant provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. Three arrests were made under section 71A, namely, directing the activities of a criminal organisation; the remaining 35 were made under section 72, namely, participating in or contributing to certain activities of a criminal organisation. As a result of these arrests, a total of 19 other charges have been preferred against various individuals, including 18 relating to burglary and one relating to robbery contrary to sections 12 and 14 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 respectively. Only last Monday, 11 June, two men from Galway were each sentenced to nine years' imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to offences under section 72.

The Garda authorities devote considerable resources from across the Garda organisation to their efforts to tackle organised crime and they deserve our praise for the successes they have had against a number of those involved in these criminal gangs, who are now behind bars. Furthermore, the Commissioner has made it clear, time and again, there will be no let-up in the action taken against these gangs. He has the Government's full support - and I expect that of Members of this House - in that approach.

Let me be blunt - the individuals involved in organised crime are ruthless people who will stop at nothing to avoid being brought to account for their crimes. Violence and intimidation are a way of life for these people. We, that is the Government and the Oireachtas, have a duty to ensure the criminal justice system is equipped to prevent them undermining our core values. To that end, we must ensure that in the most serious of cases, where jury intimidation is a real possibility, the law has a means available to bring serious criminals to account and to justice. On balance, I consider it is necessary to continue section 8 in operation for a further period. The period now proposed will run for 12 months, from 30 June 2012.

I commend the motion to the House and hope it will have the full support of Members.

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