Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I fully support this amendment. We talk about careful pre-legislative scrutiny of proposals here in the Oireachtas and that is certainly the way it should be. I have seen some cases where that has not happened, and that is unfortunate and something which should not have been allowed.

In general, we must change the way in which some criminal proceedings are carried out. Many cases would not go before the courts if the local garda had been left in local communities. It is unfortunate that local gardaí were taken away from society. They lived in the local village and always nipped crimes in the bud. Those cases never got to the point of being heard in court.

A certain case in west Cork with national relevance has been going on for five or six years. That is scandalous. It is baffling, to say the least, to see the length of time that people are waiting for cases to go before the courts for a judgment. I will support Deputy Pringle's amendment.

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