Michael Conaghan (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The past number of weeks have seen an escalation of gang violence in the streets of Dublin and elsewhere in Ireland. This poses a number of challenges to the State and our communities. I am glad to have the opportunity to raise these challenges with the Minister and to ask him to ensure that adequate steps are taken to address them.

The spectre of gang violence on our streets poses a threat to the safety of the public and to people's lives. Moreover, it poses a threat to the rule of law. It is a direct challenge to the authority of the State, a challenge that must be faced down immediately. This goes to the core of the State's credibility. When this type of violence is allowed to occur, it poses a question as to who controls our streets. Is it not the State that decides who has the authority to use guns on the streets, an authority that is vested in a very select few people who are well trained and committed to guarding the peace? This authority must be upheld.

The State also lays down assumptions about how civil society should work. People should be able to live their lives free of fear, intimidation, the threat of guns and the illegitimate taking of life. They should have the freedom to raise a family in peace and safety. These are values that the State nominally places at a very high level, but they are being eroded and undermined. The challenge that the criminal use of guns poses, and the by-product of this at community level in engendering fear, undermining public safety and undermining the rule of law, weakens the legitimate expectations and aspirations of citizens in a modern state.

The spectre of brutal violence on our streets also poses a major challenge to our communities. A sense of community pride and neighbourhood, and a feeling of safety within a community, should be a given. However, when violence is brought onto people's doorsteps, it has the potential to seriously undermine the community. The disposition of 99% of people in any community is to contribute, to enjoy their homes and their area. A community is the product of the voluntary efforts of the people in an area. A community has the right to define itself by what it achieves through its collective efforts, rather than being unfairly branded by the acts of individual gunmen. Cherry Orchard, for example, is now a vibrant area which has fought hard to overcome a difficult start, to secure services and to build a community. It is now home to a leading football club, employment projects, a men's club, crèches, a brilliant new school and a children's orchestra that has famously represented the city in concert halls abroad and on RTE. This is a community that has grown together; it is a good news story. However, the single image on last Friday's news of a man gunned down on his doorstep can undermine that and undo decades of community building.

The recent escalation of gun violence associated with organised crime poses twin challenges to the authority of the State and to the rights of our communities, and the families and individuals within them. It places us precariously at the top of a slippery slope. Are we going to recognise that we have stepped onto this very slippery slope? Do we recognise the danger of the spectre which lies at the bottom of this slope? Are we prepared to take action to stop the slide?

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