Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Cheann Comhairle as ucht an deis seo a thabhairt dom labhairt an ábhar seo inniu. Last Tuesday a constituent of mine was shot dead in Furry Park in Killester. A street was cordoned off, Garda barriers were erected and local children learned that a man was shot. Eamon Kelly was a notorious criminal but daylight murder should not happen in a civilised society.

There are those who would openly argue that as long as these people are killing each other, it does not matter. There are those who say people who live by the sword die by the sword or that this was no loss. These people do not have a clue about what they are talking. I am thankful this murder did not injure or harm any bystander or other innocent party.

However, such events imprint themselves on the consciousness of a community, which is not healthy. I know children who have lost family members to violent crime, and this has created a scar that will last a lifetime and poison their minds, possibly irreversibly.

The killing of Eamon Kelly was connected to the murder, also in my constituency, of Alan Ryan, who was shot dead on 3 September last. The Irish Times reported the following in connection with the killings:

Gardaí believe Ryan was shot dead in a conspiracy between a number of crime gangs as part of their efforts to resist the extortion demands of the Real IRA, with Ryan having led that extortion campaign. Intelligence suggests the Real IRA believe Eamon Kelly had assisted the gangs in organising the Ryan murder, with Kelly believed to have been gunned down as a result of his involvement.

Deputy Kevin Humphreys and I represent areas where young children and men are dragged into gang culture as they seek a perverse sense of empowerment.

I have a number of direct questions for the Minister. Does he agree that murder is murder regardless of who is the victim and whether he or she is known to the Garda? Does he have a view on how we can prevent this specific feud and feuds in general from spiralling out of control to avoid further bloodshed? Does he agree that constant attacks by politicians and media commentators on the pay, terms and conditions of the Garda Síochána are undermining Garda morale? Is he confident the Garda has sufficient resources to address this issue? How can we prevent young men and women from being sucked into this destructive way of life?

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