Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In recent weeks, we have seen a string of brutal, cold-blooded murders and attempted assassinations on the streets of Dublin. It is clear that the criminals behind this murderous feud have no compassion for life, no respect for society and do not fear the State. It is, therefore, incumbent on the State to be absolutely unyielding in its response, and to ensure that the brutal thugs behind this barbarity end up behind prison bars. Communities in the north city and elsewhere, which are currently afflicted by these thugs, must get the community policing they require and deserve.

When the Labour Party took office, amid the worst economic crisis this country has ever known, the Garda had been stripped of manpower and resources by the previous Fianna Fáil Administration. In addressing the crisis, our goal was to restore the economy urgently and get people back to work to ensure room for new investment in essential public services, policing being chief among them.

We reopened Templemore Garda training college after Fianna Fáil had shuttered and closed it. We set in train the new recruitment programme which will eventually see the number of gardaí exceed 15,000. More than €34 million has been provided to deliver 640 new vehicles for the force. My colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, ensured a €160 million programme to build new Garda stations as well as to refurbish and upgrade existing ones. That is in addition to significant and important investment in the IT infrastructure for the Garda between now and 2021. If the Garda management can get that IT investment right, it will allow An Garda Síochána to deploy cutting-edge technology in the fight against crime.

White-collar criminals and others who launder the proceeds of protection rackets and other crimes and buy properties with them should not be forgotten. They allow criminals walk with glory through distressed and depressed communities. That is part of the glamour they exercise. These godfathers, and indeed godmothers, feed off, for the most part, depressed and deprived communities. They offer lifestyles to many young people who are, unfortunately, tempted by them but who end up dead long before their time. Unless we take a new approach to take out these criminal godfathers and godmothers, we will never cut down on the problem.

The Labour Party ensured the establishment of the Garda Authority to ensure independent oversight of the force and a policing system fit for purpose. However, the fight against crime is much wider than An Garda Síochána alone. The Labour Party also paved the way for a second Special Criminal Court to deal swiftly with the most serious cases of organised crime.

This is a sore point for Sinn Féin. It blindly refuses to acknowledge the need for the Special Criminal Court at all, simply because it convicted one of its own, the so-called “good republican”, Thomas “Slab” Murphy. When Sinn Féin Deputies talk about people being afraid to walk the streets or to go into a pub, how much more afraid are people of walking into a court to testify against a criminal? That is why there is a need for a Special Criminal Court. If we are talking sense, we need to talk in the round about how we deal with an issue which, on and off, has afflicted far too many parts of Ireland and funds the kind of lifestyles one reads about and sees photographs of in the Sunday newspapers. These are the people who got rich on this lifestyle and who, unfortunately, go back to entice others into it. Sinn Féin should stop undermining this State’s capacity to deal with terrorism and gangland crime.

It is essential to remember that terrorism and gangland crime are not the only forms of crime we must tackle as a society. We must focus on ensuring our communities are safe places in which to grow up, raise a family and grow old. We must focus on ensuring our society promotes justice and fairness at all levels. These are wide-ranging challenges which need a complex array of interlocking solutions. This ranges from supporting victims of sexual and domestic violence to tackling white-collar crime to reforming our prison system, as well as much more besides.

Sexual abuse and sexual violence are heinous crimes. It is vital victims receive the support they need when they make disclosures. An Garda Síochána must be fully equipped and trained to deal with incidents and reports of sexual violence. While training in this area is available to gardaí, it is not mandatory at present. Mandatory training on sexual violence is essential for all trainee gardaí.

The signing of the Istanbul Convention marks an important milestone for all those who have campaigned for better protections and supports for victims of domestic violence. In government, the Labour Party published an action plan for the implementation of the Istanbul Convention. This included actions such as the provision of education and training of public sector staff involved in this area; development and delivery of training for legal professionals; and implementation of co-ordinated national helpline service provision for responding to domestic and sexual violence. What is now required is a new domestic violence Bill to improve the protections available to victims of domestic violence, most critically for those victims in crisis situations. Such a Bill should include measures to reduce potential intimidation; limit the requirement for victims to give evidence before large numbers of strangers, especially where the victim can seem to be on trial rather than the alleged perpetrator; bar electronic communications by perpetrators of domestic violence; and allow for interim barring orders in emergency or crisis situations. The Labour Party believes it is also essential the Garda maintain adequate contact with victims, report progress on the investigation and prosecution of their cases and ensure adequate advance notice is given about the proposed release of offenders.

Society seems to believe white-collar crime is some sort of victimless crime and those involved in it are untouchable. In essence, however, it reduces resources and causes the perpetuation of fear in communities. It creates enormous resentment among law-abiding people who pay their taxes while seeing those involved in white-collar crime live lifestyles, both here and abroad, which no ordinary worker could afford. The Garda, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement and other agencies can only do so much based on current structures and resources. The Garda should have a dedicated serious and organised crime unit, properly resourced and with the additional professional expertise it requires to tackle organised crime, cybercrime, serious fraud and suspicious financial transactions in both the public and private sector. Similarly, there needs to be a specialist division in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to be actively engaged and make appropriate directions much earlier in the investigation of white-collar crime. Al Capone was not caught by traditional on-street policing methods. He was caught by a specialised bureau - a similar structure we developed when previously in government, the Criminal Assets Bureau - with the power to take action and bring perpetrators before the courts. This development included special criminal courts to allow witnesses testify who had an understandable fear of being involved in cases.

There is no question whatsoever that, for a cohort of hardened criminals and those who commit heinous crimes, they belong behind bars. However, we must examine who should be in prison. We need to look at mandating the courts to make much more effective use of alternative sanctions such as community service orders. It is also essential we continue to resource, as well as increase the resources, for projects which divert young people from criminality.

I created 1,000 ring-fenced places on community employment schemes for people in rehabilitation and recovery from drugs. Amazing people are working around this city and the country to help people on the road to recovery and rehabilitation. If a person's life has been absorbed by drugs or various medical substances that he or she has been using routinely and overdosing on and he or she stops without having a job or thoughts about the future, it is essential that services are available, such as those provided by the Department of Social Protection, to offer such people the opportunity to move into full-time education in order that they can get qualifications. It is essential that those services are available. Very often, recovery and rehabilitation is a long road for many people with quite a few faltering steps along the way where people may have to try repeatedly to kick a habit that has overcome them. It involves projects at a local level to give people the support to allow them to get their lives back on track. We need to emphasise that, particularly in respect of young people who have developed addiction problems of various kinds.

There is, of course, a link between anti-social behaviour and young people who get involved in crime. We all know that anti-social behaviour is the scourge of many neighbourhoods and is very destructive of community life. It is especially distressing for older people and parents parenting alone when they become the target of anti-social behaviour. That is why community policing must be at the heart of any effective policing strategy in order that people get to know the gardaí in their neighbourhoods, build a relationship with them over time and have a resource they can go to when there are outbreaks of anti-social behaviour. Things can go back down again very quickly in a community that is developing, recovering and expanding. This can be caused by a couple of people fomenting trouble unless there is a strong community policing presence in the area. Gardaí do tremendous work every day given the dangers they face. It is more than time for the State to legislate to allow members of An Garda Síochána to join a trade union for the purposes of collective bargaining in line with the majority of other EU countries.

The Labour Party has developed specific proposals on this front. Affiliation to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, would be subject to representative bodies and ICTU recognising the unique character of our policing services and the fact that their members voluntarily forswear the right to strike or to engage in other industrial action. The representative role and rights of gardaí would be significantly enhanced by that.

There has been much commentary around starting salaries for young gardaí. They should be examined and, in particular, it must be recognised that gardaí may be drafted to a location hundreds of miles from their home areas which means they have to rent, even when they are at the beginning of their careers. The issue of rent allowances for gardaí should be examined as a matter of urgency.

During our period in Government, two gardaí were murdered along the Border. All I can say is that we want to see working conditions, rights and remuneration of gardaí, who put themselves on the line every day in defence of the State, significantly improved as the economy grows stronger and resources become available. They are first in line for us and we should allow them to be first in line when it comes to resourcing and remuneration.

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