Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Jim O'Callaghan noted earlier, the Offences against the State Act was created at a unique point in Irish history. It was introduced in response to a severe threat faced by the State and its provisions have been amended as that threat has evolved. We should welcome that this debate is taking place and that these provisions are subject to scrutiny. The provisions are exceptional and it is right that we examine whether they continue to be a necessary piece of our legal infrastructure in 2020.

Fortunately, the threat faced by the Irish State from paramilitaries has receded since the Good Friday Agreement, although the activities of certain dissident groups mean it has not entirely subsided. However, we are faced now with a serious and significant threat from criminal gangs, some of which are international in their reach. The past number of weeks have given us some unsettling reminders of the influence and threat many of these gangs still generate. Early in June, a garda in Dundalk had his home set on fire. The garda was at home with his pregnant wife and two young children at the time. This is the third incident of arson at a garda's home in Dundalk in the past three years. We have also seen an ongoing campaign of intimidation and harassment against members of Quinn Industrial Holdings, with arson attacks, assaults and criminal damage culminating in the brutal kidnapping and torture of Kevin Lunny. The four men arrested in connection with that particular case have been referred to the Special Criminal Court for trial. Two weeks ago, we saw a named individual being thanked for his role in arranging a major boxing match. One would have hoped that journalists abroad covering boxing might have invested some time looking at this individual's activities in Ireland and reflecting on their coverage of both the fight and the man.

It is through fear, intimidation and violence that criminal gangs seek to operate. They bring fear to their communities, to the young people they enlist as foot soldiers and to the people they keep in addiction to the drugs they sell. The level of fear created by these gangs is very real. Research from the CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign in 2016 found that two thirds of people experiencing drug-related intimidation do not report those incidents to the Garda, mainly for fear of reprisal. The research also found that other than the individual in debt, the person most often the victim of intimidation is the debtor's mother.

Criminal gangs also use fear as a weapon in criminal trials. Research published earlier this year by the UCD school of law found that jury interference was regarded by judges as a known feature in a small number of Irish jury trials. While the numbers of trials impacted are small, it is nevertheless extremely significant that the reality of jury intimidation is now being regarded as a fact. In the same research, one judge recalled being told that the jury members were very worried and had requested that their names not be read out in court during the morning roll call for fear of retribution.

Separately from the UCD research, following the killing of a young man who broke up a fight in Dublin's south inner city, witnesses were told they would get a bullet in the head should they give evidence in court. Some years ago, a number of criminal trials related to gang activity in Limerick saw extensive witness and jury intimidation. The Garda Commissioner, Mr. Drew Harris, has said that we have a situation where organised crime groups and terrorist groups are in a position, through fear, to thwart jury-led trials. He has described the Special Criminal Court as "a vital function, a justice function, a criminal justice function, in how we protect the people of Ireland".

In renewing this legislation, we should also look at how much progress has been made in dismantling the criminal gangs and paramilitary organisations that make the Special Criminal Court necessary. First, we know that dissident republicans had threatened to take advantage of Brexit, whether it be a no-deal Brexit or otherwise, and, in particular, to target Border infrastructure.

Therefore, what assessment has been made of the current level of threat from dissidents, particularly given the ongoing lack of certainty around Brexit?

Second, the report given to the House by the Minister detailing the operation of section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 gives some details of the ongoing fight against gangland crime in Ireland. However, as I mentioned, we have seen that some of these gangs are international in their operation, with senior figures placing themselves in foreign jurisdictions outside the reach of An Garda Síochána. What work has been done by the Garda but also at an international level to ensure there are no safe havens for people leading criminal gangs which operate in this State?

We must absolutely acknowledge the very real civil liberties concerns expressed about the Special Criminal Court, and its processes should only be used in the most exceptional circumstances. I am cognisant of the criticisms of the Special Criminal Court made by Amnesty International, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and the UN Human Rights Committee. We should consider what mechanisms are in place to ensure oversight of the Special Criminal Court and the wider offences against the State legislation. We should also assess how juries are protected in other jurisdictions to see what lessons we could learn and apply here.

A number of Deputies have brought forward useful amendments regarding reviewing this legislation over the course of the next year, and such a review is called for in the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. That report recommended the appointment of an independent examiner of terrorist and serious crime legislation. The programme for Government commits to the rapid implementation of the commission's report, and during the talks, the three parties discussed the offences against the State legislation and the potential for review of its provisions. I welcome the Minister's commitment today that the review of serious crime legislation recommended in the commission's report will be undertaken. We see this as an important step in modernising laws in this particular area. As such, with respect to the ongoing capacity of organised crime gangs to interfere with criminal trials via intimidation and considering the Minister's firm commitment to review this legislation this year as per the commission report, my party will be supporting this motion and the renewal of the legislation for a further year.

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