Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue which is clearly a source of great concern to him, all Members of this House, the Government and particularly to me. I share the widespread outrage at the type of criminality to which the Deputy refers and I fully appreciate the concerns of communities, including the Cherry Orchard community, who find this violence taking place on their local streets.

We have all been shocked by the callous murders and other serious crimes which have been carried out recently. The brutal nature of these crimes is a stark reminder of the mentality of those involved in organised criminality and the danger which they pose to our society. I am in ongoing regular contact with the Garda Commissioner about all aspects of serious crime. The Garda will continue to bear down heavily on the activities of those involved in gangland crime, uphold the rule of law and ensure the authority of the State is respected. That is clear from the extent of the Garda operations launched against gangs as well as the many drug seizures that have taken place in recent months and weeks.

I should also mention the most recent recorded crime statistics, which were released last week and which show that most categories of crime are decreasing in number. That reflects well on the work of An Garda Síochána at all levels. The figures showed that in the 12 month period to the end of June the incidence of murder had decreased by 8% and assault offences were down by 9.7%. Of course, we have experienced a particularly bad week with a series of murders in different parts of the country, some of which are known to be gangland murders.

We should not underestimate the difficulties the Garda faces in trying to prevent gangland killings and related crimes and in bringing the perpetrators to justice. These crimes are carefully planned and are carried out by people who are very familiar with criminal and forensic investigation techniques. Moreover, even where members of gangs are clearly at risk, not only will they generally not co-operate with the Garda but they will do everything they can to avoid Garda attention.

Some have characterised the issues in this area as budgetary matters. There are no budgetary issues that in any way inhibit the Garda addressing the issue of gangland crime or the horrific and barbaric atrocities that have taken place, visiting death on a number of individuals. There has been gangland violence for some time in Ireland, and the number of murders was a good deal higher when Garda numbers were higher than they are today. It is also unrealistic to expect that the Garda Commissioner can devote his entire resources to individually protecting people who are routinely trying to avoid the Garda so they can continue to engage in criminality. Such an approach could only come at the expense of ordinary Garda activity to protect the community generally.

Ultimately, the only effective way to combat organised crime is by disrupting and prosecuting those involved in its operations, and especially the drugs trade which is at the heart of much of its profits. Substantial efforts by An Garda Síochána and Customs and Excise are therefore devoted to damaging this lucrative business. Only last week gardaí seized a major cache of drugs in Dublin, valued at €1.5 million, and a number of persons are charged before the courts as a result.

I also share the general concern about the incidence of attacks and attempted attacks using pipe bombs, which has become more frequent. I am particularly familiar with this because as Minister for Justice and Equality I am familiar with the Garda involvement and as Minister for Defence I am aware of the involvement of the specialist group within the Defence Forces which is too regularly called out to neutralise improvised explosive devices of some description or other. There are substantial Garda operations in place to tackle this problem, with strategies firmly focused on disrupting the use of pipe bombs and bringing those involved before the courts. Indeed, Deputies will be aware of the significant Garda action taking place in Dublin city today in this regard. Furthermore, there are substantial penalties available to the courts following conviction for explosives-related offences, including a penalty of life imprisonment for causing an explosion likely to endanger life.

As Minister, I will continue, with the full support of the Government, to do everything in my power to assist the Garda in its work. There is already very strong anti-gangland legislation in place and I have made it clear to the Garda Commissioner that if he feels there are other measures which might be taken in this area, I will examine them positively. However, the issue the Deputy raises is not something that can be resolved by simple legislative solutions. If that were the case, an ideal legislative measure would have been enacted a long time ago.

Despite the difficulties gardaí encounter, the Garda has been able to bring people before the courts, particularly in respect of a number of high profile killings in the past couple of years, even though it will be some time before those cases are concluded. Arrests have been made in respect of a number of the recent killings. The Garda Commissioner has my full support in continuing to confront this type of criminality and in bringing those involved to justice. I take this opportunity to congratulate him and all the members of An Garda Síochána on their successes in tackling serious crime in all forms.

As far as I am concerned, we are not on a slippery slope.

The rule of law in the State will be upheld and we will surrender no part of this country to any criminal gang of any description, nor will we do so to the criminal gang made up by the so-called Real IRA.

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