Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would first like to refer to the contribution by Deputy O'Donovan ten minutes ago, which I would like to echo, rather than repeat.

I have to agree with Deputy Eugene Murphy in regard to Deputy Paul Murphy's decision, either by his legal team or by himself as an individual, to apply for free legal aid. It is a disgrace. I know this debate is about crime, but although he is entirely entitled to have his day in court if he so wishes, the granting of free legal aid is a crime against the taxpayer, who is footing the bill for the defence of the incidents that occurred in Jobstown and in respect of which he faces a court appearance. I echo Deputy Eugene Murphy's remarks about Deputy Paul Murphy's party footing the bill. I call on Deputy Paul Murphy to refuse free legal aid in this case. It is a disgrace that he applied for it in the first place. I do not blame the Judiciary, but the precedent is appalling. There are set criteria, which I have read. There has not been a great deal of comment made by Members of this House, other than a few cursory remarks on social media and, indeed, the comments by Deputy John McGuinness, which were referenced. However, Deputy Murphy needs to reassess the decision he made in this regard.

I would like to open my remarks in these statements that are being made today by commending the members of An Garda Síochána, whether they be new recruits or experienced, senior officers, on the work they do on our behalf, putting their lives on the line daily and tackling everything from small, petty incidents to serious subversives, terrorists and drug lords. I know they do tremendous work in very difficult circumstances, with new recruits in particular not being paid enough - it is not the first time I have made that remark in this House and it certainly will not be the last - and with the resource issue they have had for the past decade or more. Gardaí would probably say it has been perennial for the service they provide. We have a duty and responsibility in this House, especially given the very central and strong position that gardaí hold in our community and our society. Various members of my family, including my grandfather and a cousin of mine, have served at levels within the Garda in this city, and I am very proud of their record in terms of what they have done in dealing with crime, often when ill-equipped to do so. Reference was made by Deputy Breathnach to individual members of the service who were slain while going about their jobs. We have to do more.

Arming the Garda is not something I would welcome, but I recognise that we need to have a conversation about it, whether it be increasing the size of the armed response unit or providing it with allocated resources in particular Garda stations. That is something we will have to do. The professionalisation of the Garda was mentioned earlier. I was a member of the Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality in the Thirty-first Dáil and this is something that was mentioned at every possible opportunity when the Garda Commissioner came before us, whether the former or the current one. The purpose of professionalisation, or civilianisation as it has been called, is making sure that we recruit sworn members of the Garda who have the professional background to deliver the service that is required of a modern, 21st century police service. Rather than getting a 22 year old to get their BA in policing or whatever it might be and then upskill while in the service, we need to bring in professionals with experience. This is something the Commissioner has spoken about and which I have spoken about on a number of occasions. Having visited other jurisdictions and other police services within the European Union, both as a Member of this House and formerly as a member of Fingal County Council, I can assure the House that not only is it a very worthwhile endeavour but it will also provide the Garda with additional resources, either by freeing up gardaí who are upskilling or by providing the professionals required to do forensics or handle any other responsibilities within the Garda.

Little things like youth diversionary processes matter. The way in which we tackle crime, particularly drug-related crime, in any jurisdiction is through education and diverting people from the criminal justice system into either an educational or a rehabilitative, medically focused service for individuals who find themselves either in possession of small quantities of drugs or using drugs, regardless of their socioeconomic background. Under the chairmanship of Deputy David Stanton, a number of members, both politically and non-politically aligned, including myself, went to Lisbon in Portugal to review a system of this type, following which the committee commissioned a report. It was an eye-opening experience for somebody like myself who is vehemently opposed to drugs and drug use. It opened my eyes about what can be done instead of banging one's head against the wall, throwing people in jail and clogging up our courts. In fact, the way in which we deal with possession and use of small quantities of drugs should be to divert a person in a civil, discretionary way, in the hands of the Garda and medical professionals, through the HSE, the Department of Health or a new, specially tasked operation or organisation bridging the two. Our report was published only in November, and I encourage anyone watching or listening, as well as the new Members of the House, to read it because it is not an especially weighty document. Of course, it will require much more work in terms of research into the Portuguese model, but after 15 years that model appears to be very successful. The resources allocated to their department of justice and their courts service are being diverted into the health area, and their drug consumption rates have dropped. If it works there, with a little bit of research there is no reason it should not work here as well. The committee recommended the introduction of a harm-reduction and rehabilitative approach whereby the possession of small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use could be dealt with by way of a civil or administrative response rather than via the criminal justice route. As I mentioned, discretion for the application of this approach would remain with the Garda and the health provider in respect of the way in which an individual in possession of a small amount of drugs for personal use might be treated.

We talk about the allocation of Garda resources and of course I welcome the supply and support agreement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in regard to the number of gardaí, bringing it up to 15,000. That will be a very difficult number to get to and it will probably take the guts of a decade, but we will get there. The will is there. We are never going to close Templemore again because we have learned from that mistake. It was an economic necessity but still a mistake.

Having sat on the committee for the past five years, I agree with Deputy Brophy's comments regarding all these kingpins and drug lords who have been referenced and who are regularly dramatised on the front pages of the red tops. I speak directly to the editors of those newspapers and the larger newspapers: stop calling them by flippant nicknames and call them by their Christian names. They are dramatising it in such a way that people become immune to it. That is not appropriate when dealing with people who would shoot a person on the street quicker than they would admit that what they are doing is morally bankrupt.

We have to deal with the issue of drugs in a better way than just throwing people in prison for possessing or using small amounts. Instead we need to tackle the problem of education. Individuals who unfortunately find themselves using drugs need to diverted away from drugs in the first place, and if we catch them they should not simply be thrown in jail and not given the opportunity to be steered clear.

I thank the Acting Chairman for giving me additional time to speak.

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