Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are other aspects of this matter that I wish to comment on. Gangland crime is one of the worst things to afflict this nation in the past number of years. For decades it has come and gone, peaking at various times, but it never goes away. Governments of all hues have put means in place to try to tackle it. I welcome those interventions by Governments, regardless of where they came from or what they did. I find it deeply annoying that members of a particular party, Sinn Féin, talk constantly about a whole-of-government approach to problem solving - the expression used by Deputy Mary Lou McDonald today - and yet refuse to participate in any discussion to form a Government. They flip-flop on this; they talk about the effect of crime on communities, but at the same time they want to take away one of the key measures in dealing with the matter, which is the Special Criminal Court. We need a slightly more honest approach from Deputy Eoin Ó Broin, who served on South Dublin County Council with me. He knows very well - this was alluded to by another Deputy - that while one must tackle the causes of crime, dealing with serious crime means the State must have the means to put those people into jail and make sure they serve long, proper sentences for the crimes they commit. The State cannot tolerate criminals going into hotels or people's homes with AK-47s and shooting randomly, killing innocent people and victims whom criminals feel they have a right to kill. They have no right to commit any type of crime. When they are caught, we need a court system to enable us to put these people into our prison system and keep them there for the length of time they deserve. In my opinion, the Judiciary needs to look at this issue. We need longer sentences, particularly for the most violent criminal offenders in this State, who all too often are back out far too quickly in view of the level of crime and the violence they have wreaked upon a community. After they have committed the crimes, their sentences do not reflect what actually happened.

My constituents are ordinary people living their lives, just like us. There is a particular aspect of gangland crime that has been raised repeatedly by my constituents, especially by those people who are living in communities affected by crime. It is the glorification of gangland crime by certain sections of the media in this State. The media is literally portraying crime in episodes on a weekly basis, as if was a soap opera. The criminals are given nicknames, front-page stories and pictures that turn them into some version of a misguided celebrity superstar. It gives all the wrong impressions in terms of what we should hold as proper values in society. These people are not front-page news stories; they are not super-celebrities or movie stars. They are thugs with guns who kill people. While I absolutely commend the media on the proper reporting of violent crime, which is essential, I will always caution against this sort of thing. When people are tuned into mini-celebrities for the sake of selling newspapers, it is an insult to the victims of crime, the Garda and every single decent person living in this State who does not want to see these people glorified. I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to contribute to the debate today.

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