Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

At the same time every year, these motions come before the House and are opposed by Sinn Féin. Every year, we request that proper time be allocated to a debate on the motions but our requests are always denied and the motions are passed. This happens even though the legislation fundamentally undermines human rights, civil liberties and democratic life in this State. There is absolutely no basis for the continued use of draconian provisions such as these.

The provisions up for renewal and, indeed, the Offences Against the State Acts in their entirety, have no place in the present or future of this island. We are living in a new political reality and there remains a duty on the Minister and the Government to live up to their obligations under the Good Friday Agreement to deliver security normalisation, something which the renewal of this Act does not help to deliver.

The Government has certain obligations under the Good Friday Agreement. The Agreement places an onus on both governments to work towards the normalisation of the security apparatus here in the Twenty-six Counties and in the Six Counties. As every Member of this House will be aware, the Agreement was endorsed overwhelmingly by the majority of the people on this island. It needs to be protected and implemented in full.

It is clear there is too much apathy among too many in the Opposition on this issue. Such apathy, coupled with the misguided and misplaced enthusiasm of others in the Oireachtas, has obvious negative implications for society. As Members of this Oireachtas, we all have an onus to uphold and implement the Good Friday Agreement in full. That is why Sinn Féin is calling on every Member to vote against this motion and to campaign for the repeal of the Offences against the State Acts in their entirety.

In the past, many Members have argued in favour of the provisions of the Act because they have played a role. Today, I do not think anyone can truthfully argue that these provisions have a place in the present or future of this State. Sinn Féin believes the legislation is counter-productive in the long run. We live in a normal, law and order society, and normal policing is more than adequate to convict those who seek to undermine that law and order. There is no place in our society for the emergency legislation that was passed in 1998. The retention of this Act is an admission of the failure of this and previous Governments.

Draconian legislation can never be a substitute for robust law and strong and accountable policing. Sinn Féin has always been in a minority in this House in recent years when we have rightly opposed the 1998 Act. I am sure we will be in a minority again today, but we are not in a minority internationally as we analyse this measure. The United Nations Human Rights Committee shares our stance on it. An Garda Síochána and the courts can convict and ensure those who carry out acts of violence in this day and age serve a proper sentence for those actions.

It is our duty to make every attempt to convince so-called dissident groups to move away from violence, embrace peace and accept the will of the people as expressed in the Good Friday Agreement. We must also clearly explain and convince them of the opportunities the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process give republicans to further the republican and all-island agenda. That is where our focus for the next 12 months should be rather than seeking to mismanage the issue through outdated measures such as this Act. This is another reason I ask Members to oppose this motion.

It is important to look at the issue of so-called dissident activities. In recent years, there has been virtually zero support for them. Unfortunately, considerable elements have resorted to criminality. In essence, they are criminals. They are involved in criminal activities to line their own pockets and enrich themselves. They are not republicans. This is not going to help bring about a new, united republic. They could not be further from being republicans. There may well be some among them who hold a republican view.

In terms of those who are not involved in activities that enrich themselves, our challenge in these Houses is to engage with them and demonstrate the benefits of the peace process. The lack of leadership from this Government and the British Government in demonstrating the benefits of the peace process is the real issue here. Where are the economic benefits of the peace process for people living in working class areas, including Border counties like my own in Donegal? What economic benefits have accrued? That is the message to defeat those who would engage in so-called dissident activities.

These types of laws are self-defeating because they almost make martyrs of some people by avoiding due process. The real challenge for these Houses is to demonstrate to communities that are suffering economically or politically that there are real and tangible benefits from the peace process. Can we have a re-engagement by both Governments to deal with the outstanding issues from the past and give victims on all sides answers about what happened to their loved ones?

I am mindful of the powerful documentary on Monday night, which for the first time on our State broadcaster demonstrated the role of the British state in co-ordinating the activities of loyalist paramilitaries from the 1970s. They reformed, controlled and armed those paramilitary organisations as well as directing them to the homes of republicans with intelligence and other forms of assistance. That occurred from the 1970s right through to the 2000s. Throughout all those years we never had a Government in this State that told the British Government it needed to take ownership of the full responsibility it had for directing those paramilitaries against the Nationalist community for all those decades. The British Government was a direct player in the conflict and arguably the most serious players, certainly in terms of the resources at its disposal throughout those decades. If that type of issue was dealt with robustly, it would send a message that the peace process is equal for all. Such action by our Government would do more to dissuade young people from joining these so-called dissident groups than the legislation which is before us again today.

As an Irish republican, I stand ready to play my part and my party will play its part in helping that process at any stage. That is the challenge for us all. If one looks at the role of the British and Irish Governments in recent years, they seem to have been more interested in their own particular agendas than in driving through the peace process. There was a lack of engagement and support from the Government leading up to the current budgetary crisis in Stormont.

The lack of leadership on the part of this Government is just not good enough. I reiterate the call made by my party's President, Deputy Adams, for the Taoiseach to engage directly with British Prime Minster. As Members in this Chamber will be aware, Sinn Féin has consistently opposed the retention of this amendment. We have argued each year that it should be repealed in its entirety. At this time, there is neither a need for this legislation nor an argument in favour of it. I therefore call on people to vote accordingly and reject the motion.

I now turn to the motion regarding the Criminal Justice (Amendment) 2009. Admitting that the ordinary courts are not adequate to deal individuals who are involved in organised criminal activity is a sad reflection on any government or state. In such circumstances, the state in question has failed to deal with issues like jury intimidation and witness protection. If we are serious about dealing with organised criminal gangs, we need to put resources in place, and especially resources for An Garda Síochána.

I am sure those involved in organised criminal activity see the introduction of legislation to ensure they are tried before the Special Criminal Court as an admission of the State's failure to provide protections and safeguards to those who serve on juries. It is the wrong way to go and we will oppose this proposal for that reason. That is not flippantly to disregard the activities of these criminal gangs. We understand they cause misery and hardship and have no regard for law and order.

If we examine best international practice, we will see that other countries have found more effective ways of dealing with organised criminal gangs that do not involve institutions like the Special Criminal Court. That court has been criticised by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Amnesty International and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights for its procedures and for being a special court which ordinarily should not be used against civilians.

Among the criticisms are the lack of a jury and the increasing use of the court to try organised ordinary crimes rather than the terrorist cases it was set up to handle. On the contrary, the jurisdiction of the Special Criminal Court is not restricted to offences related to the extraordinary circumstances which led to its establishment.

There is information available which shows that an increasing number of cases that are not obviously related to offences against the State are being tried in the Special Criminal Court, largely as a result of the exercise by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the power to certify cases involving other than scheduled offences for trial in the Special Criminal Court. This is simply unacceptable.

The Minister cannot argue for the retention of outdated legislation while at the same time implementing considerable cutbacks to An Garda Síochána and taking away its resources to combat criminality in communities throughout the State. There is a contradiction in the argument and for that reason we will oppose this motion.

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