Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this significant new criminal justice Bill, and I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to do so. I pledge my full support for the enactment of this Bill by all Members from every side of this House. I firmly believe that terrorism has no place in any modern society, or any country, for that matter, and that those criminals who choose to encourage, recruit or train others to carry out acts of terrorism, either domestically or internationally, should feel the full wrath of the Irish criminal justice system.

Given our country's long and difficult history of dealing with terrorism and the long-lasting effects of terrorist atrocities, it is unfortunate that we are still affected somewhat by deranged criminals who believe that terrorising or attempting to terrorise innocent citizens is acceptable so long as it helps them to achieve their twisted ideology. That is not acceptable. As legislators, we need to act now to criminalise certain activities, such as terrorist recruitment or training and public provocation of terrorism offences, to try to prevent any further incidents from occurring in this country or abroad in conflicts such as the Syrian civil war and the ISIS conflict.

Many counties in this country have experienced the full effects of terrorism in some way, shape or form in recent decades. My county of Sligo has had its fair share of incidents in the past. The most notable incident was the tragic event of 27 August 1979 in which Lord Mountbatten and two innocent children were murdered in Mullaghmore by the IRA during the height of the Troubles.

Unfortunately, despite the success of the peace process, the dreadful use of an explosive device as an act of terror is not confined to that troubled period in our history. In recent times, the threat of domestic terrorism has increased again from dissident republican groups, subversives and large-scale criminal organisations. A worrying example of this intensification occurred only last month in the quiet village of Ballysadare, County Sligo, where a dangerous pipe bomb device was detonated in a large estate where many children live and play. I have been advised that had the timing of the explosion been different, there may well have been fatalities at this incident. A similar incident occurred recently in County Leitrim, where another pipe bomb device was found in a rural community near Drumshanbo. Both of these incidents required the Irish Defences Forces explosive ordnance disposal team to be deployed alongside the Garda. These are only two examples of incidents in which explosive devices intended to kill were placed in my constituency. There are many more to which I could refer if I had the time to do so. The criminals behind these types of incident need to be stopped. I am hopeful that the proposed Bill, which will create three new terrorist offences aimed at hitting terrorist training and recruitment, will be effective at stopping this worrying trend from developing any further. Certainly, the introduction of the proposed crime of a public provocation to commit a terrorist offence is needed.

I say this because I am very concerned about how the use of the Internet and social media, in particular as a method of recruiting and promoting both domestic and international terrorism, is potentially affecting our citizens. This is of particular importance to the international conflicts involving Islamic State in Syria and Iraq currently. As I am sure the House is aware, ISIS openly uses social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to promote its ideology and to post gruesome updates on its sectarian wars to a wide international audience, including Ireland.

Alarmingly, up to 40 Irish passport holders are believed to be fighting with ISIS in Syria currently. My first thought when I heard about this alarming figure was to wonder if they were radicalised online in Ireland, as many of the people from other countries who have joined ISIS claimed to be. It is a worrying aspect which needs swift action from Government and I am happy to see this new Bill contains measures to combat this particular instance.

I fully agree with the Minister when she says there should be no hiding place in domestic society for those who encourage, recruit or train others to carry out acts of terrorism. I also know that it has taken a great deal of time and effort to get this Bill onto the floor of the House and I commend the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, and her officials at the Department of Justice and Equality on the work they have put into this Bill to get it this far.

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