Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

First, we welcome this legislation, which as the Minister of State said is to deal with the Supreme Court case of Wayne Ellis v. the Minister for Justice and Equality in May 2019 and the anomalies that threw up.

It is clear from that case, if we look at the reality, that what was really happening is a person's prior conviction for various offences was being used as means to give him or her a larger or more severe sentence for a particular case that was before the court when they were being convicted. It meant that, in a way, a person's past was being used to inflict an additional punishment on the present. While we see that situation certainly coming into play with regard to bail applications and things like that, it is something we have to reflect upon.

That is not to say there should not be some measure to bring that into consideration in situations where people have a history of particularly extreme violent offences. What the Supreme Court and Mr. Justice Peter Charleton said, however, is that this should be up to the judge in each individual case. It must be looked at on an individual business. It cannot be done on a general scheme, as was done in many varied aspects of pieces of law that have to be amended on foot of all this.

The truth is that many people in communities across the length and breadth of the country are suffering hugely because of issues of drug abuse and the crimes around that. Drug gangs are putting huge pressure on communities with intimidation and all sorts of terrible things are happening.

Many people in ordinary communities sometimes feel very aggrieved when they see people who they know are doing terrible things in their community. They are worried about the light sentences these people receive and how they do not seem to be dealt with effectively or efficiently by the judicial system on one hand, but also that the Garda does not seem to have the resources to deal with it.

That comes into focus when we look at all this. We have to really consider who the victims are in all these cases. The victims are thousands of people in communities across the entire country, but particularly in what we would call the black spots where we have particular problems in urban areas. Often, these problems are most magnified. Inner city Dublin is probably a case and an example, as are parts of Limerick and Cork and also other cities around the country. As we know, Dundalk has recently been one of the focal points of much of this.

The communities who live in these areas tell us that they live in fear and feel that the Garda and the authorities are not in control. That is the first job of work that must be done to resolve these situations. Control needs to be taken back. Every effort needs to be made in those particular areas to put resources in to ensure that control can be taken back and then to break the cycle of criminal activity within these communities.

The most important thing to do, however, is to try to work on measures to have that control taken away from the criminal gangs and put back into the hands of the authorities, and particularly, into the hands of the Garda Síochána. In reality, members of the Garda are the only ones who can do this in these situations. I commend the work they have done in many places around the country and in many of these areas where they have a very tough job facing down these violent criminal gangs.

The reality is also that when people in these communities report things to the Garda or seek assistance, such assistance comes but it can often be late. People can often find it frustrating. I spoke to a woman recently who told me about contacting her local Garda station. She was told there was no car available to go out to a very serious incident that was happening on her road.

That issue would be echoed by many people in communities across the country. The basic resources the Garda need to deal with these problems are not in place. There needs to be a huge effort to ensure we can gain back control in these communities. To regain the confidence of the people in these communities, we will have to put the resources in place. That will require much more community policing.

There is this notion among the senior ranks of the Garda Síochána that every garda is a community garda. The truth is that this is not the experience of many people. There is an awful lot of specialisation within An Garda Síochána with dedicated units for various action, which are needed. The emphasis on the community garda, however, who is known in the area, with whom people will work, have a relationship and trust, is needed. The community garda to whom people can tell things in confidence has been taken away from many communities. That needs to be restored as an absolute priority.

For the many young people who get caught up in these gangs, it is almost a life sentence in itself. Once they get a toe in the water, it is like quicksand. They are sucked in and there is no coming back. For many young people and their families, we must find a way of breaking this tragedy.

I recently watched the excellent film, "Michael Inside" which I am sure the Minister saw, which is about a young man in inner city Dublin who gets caught up in a drug gang. He is asked to keep some drugs in his house but it is raided by the Garda drugs squad and he gets a short term in prison. He is sucked into that gang mentality of being on one side or the other. With the best of intentions, his grandfather who he lives with tries to help him out. However, there is no way out of it. Thugs intimidate him and push him into a certain situation.

Speaking to people on the ground, they tell me that what is in that drama is very real to the lives of many people living in these communities. The film tells a story about the failure of services and the authorities to be able to break that cycle, to move in at the right time to ensure that the young man in questioned is not forced into a gang. The end of the film is tragic with the young man in prison watching another prisoner smoking heroin. Obviously, the message of the tale is that this is the direction in which the young man will end up.

Many of these young people can be saved. The situation can be reversed and it is not hopeless. This is the message that the Government and the authorities need to bring to these communities. Many communities have thrown their hands up in the air, considering it all to be hopeless and over. We cannot allow that to be the narrative. The narrative must be a positive one. We must believe that we can move this into a different place, that we can defeat these violent drug gangs and everything they do. We must believe we can reverse the misery, as well as the lifestyle of horror and terror that they bring to communities. We can bring hope back. However, we need to make sure the resources are put in place to do that.

The first thing we must do is get control back of these communities. That is an action that can only be taken by the Garda. We must ensure we put enough community gardaí on the streets in these communities. Tough action must also be taken by the Garda to deal with the heroin houses or the one or two places in an estate where we know people deal drugs.

The local authorities have a role to play as well. They are slow to evict people from local authority housing who they know are involved in criminal activities. The local authorities claim they do not want to do that because they will get into a litigation process which will cost them a lot of money which they cannot afford to spend. The Minister of State needs to look at how we can have co-operation between the Department of Justice and local authorities to ensure they can move it to a different place.

The essence of this Bill is about sentencing. It brings a focus on what we are sentencing for. We are talking about violent crime and misery in communities. We need to do everything we can to defeat these drug gangs. While all Members are united in trying to do that, unfortunately, the actions do not move beyond here. We need to ensure that happens.

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