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

I requested that this debate take place primarily because this is such an important issue for the House to discuss. Timing-wise, I could not have gotten it better, as the Special Criminal Court made its decision on Monday. I welcome the opportunity to speak on what is a significant matter for our country. Organised crime poses a direct threat to our population, society and the workings of a stable democracy. It tears at the very fabric of our communities. Organised crime and its footsoldiers have no place in our society. We must never rest in our efforts to stamp out their activities and bring to bear the full rigours of the law in this effort. To allow a casual acceptance of organised crime to take root in our communities is to allow a generation of young people to be lured into a life of crime and antisocial behaviour, to allow vast sums of money to be taken from our economy and communities, to cause entire communities to lose faith in our justice system and democratic institutions, and to foster a belief that our institutions cannot support law-abiding citizens. This is the goal of criminal gangs that operate in our State. We must never allow them to achieve that aim. We must be unanimous in our support for the work of the Garda and the justice system to bring the consequences due to these criminals. If we fail, we condemn good people to live in fear under the boot of criminals and their gangs and we condemn young people to a life without the freedom to hope and dream of a safe and vibrant community in which people work together for the betterment of our country. We cannot turn away from the task of facing criminal organisations head-on. We must not allow safe harbour for any organisation operating outside of the law. We must do everything in our power to drive criminal gangs out of our communities. We must not cease in this effort and we must work collectively.

The Special Criminal Court hit the headlines this week. Unsurprisingly, one of the most callous and brazen murders carried out in broad daylight was at issue. Thankfully, two men have already been jailed and it is of critical importance for that to be acknowledged. I assure the House that organised crime fears the Special Criminal Court. We must continue to utilise the mechanisms of the State to tear down criminal gangs and, as the Minister highlighted in his opening remarks, amend and improve how we tackle crime by seizing assets and placing them into receivership. Criminals cannot be allowed to frustrate the system, as the Minister described, and profit from their ill-gotten gains. The court will play a significant part in that process.

On Monday, the Special Criminal Court judged one of the key players in its recent decision as "a ruthless, base, callous criminal". I am referring to former Sinn Féin councillor, Jonathan Dowdall. An elected member of a political party was referred to as a "ruthless, base, callous criminal". He is a good republican, perhaps. Sinn Féin said he was a minor figure, that it simply did not know and the party was blindsided by his activities. Deputy McDonald came into the Chamber and said as much in the last few minutes. Unfortunately, I do not accept that. Despite Sinn Féin’s claims that it had no inkling of Dowdall’s links to criminality and repeated denials from the party leader, we learned this week from Deputy Ó Broin on the radio that the party did know. Speaking on "Morning Ireland", he said that during a meeting between the party’s director of elections and Jonathan Dowdall before the 2014 local elections, it was Dowdall who raised the issue of an attack on a family member’s home. During the Special Criminal Court trial, tapes played in evidence demonstrated that Dowdall claimed the Sinn Féin official said to him, “ya riddled your uncle’s house” and the Sinn Féin official said it was his job to ask this in case it came up in the media. It is clear now Sinn Féin has known for nine years about the gun attack on Dowdall’s uncle’s house. The party now says its own future politician, at that time, brought it up and discussions were had with the director of elections. This completely discredits and undermines what has been said by multiple members of Sinn Féin in the last few weeks and just today in this Chamber. That is incredibly regrettable. I think if people were more honest, open and transparent and were to perhaps stand up and say they made a mistake, people would be more accepting. The opportunity for that has now passed.

Just four months after being elected to public office as a Sinn Féin representative, he quit. He was not forced out; he quit. Speaking at the time, the leader of Sinn Féin, Deputy McDonald, said she regretted his decision very much. She continued:

Jonathan is a very popular and respected member of his community and he will be missed in his elected role by me, the local party organisation and by local constituents.

Four months later, Jonathan Dowdall tortured a man who visited his home. He shaved the victim's head, repeatedly placed a tea towel over his face and poured water onto the tea towel in a practice commonly referred to as waterboarding. Let us reflect on that for a moment. He was described as "a very popular and respected member of the community" who would be missed. This is a man who tortured and threatened to murder. This is a former Sinn Féin councillor. The Special Criminal Court has played a pivotal role in bringing paramilitaries and organised crime to justice over the decades. I was quite wrong when I called for a debate on "gangland". The Deputies are quite correct, it should be referred to as organised crime and not just gangland because then I can talk about paramilitary and other organisations, not just those involved in what we refer to as gangland crime

The Special Criminal Court has been a crucial component in our attack against violence, drugs and terror. The promotion and continued existence of the Special Criminal Court has consistently been opposed on the benches opposite. In fact, until 2020 Sinn Féin was consistent in voting against it and only recently has been abstaining, if I am not mistaken. For anybody listening to this debate, I ask why Sinn Féin is not supportive of the Special Criminal Court. I am conscious of the Ceann Comhairle's presence and intervention earlier. This is not a rhetorical question. Why does Sinn Féin not support the Special Criminal Court? Its justice spokesperson, for whom I have great time and I respect, said it was because he does not like the legislative process. That is effectively what he inferred. I do not believe that. Why is Sinn Féin literally soft on crime when it comes to the Special Criminal Court and then lectures us on the provision of timely interventions by the State through investment in An Garda Síochána, keeping up with significant levels of funding across all aspects of the Department of Justice? I would love to know who it thinks it is serving by not supporting the Special Criminal Court. We all have a choice, every single one of us. We decide to choose the side of justice and stability or we do not. I know where Fine Gael stands. Our votes and actions have been consistent over generations. From opposition, we supported the Special Criminal Court because it was the right thing to do and we continue to do so now that we are in government.

Let us consider the implications of what a Sinn Féin government may look like. It would be soft on crime, with a willingness to stonewall the public and democratic institutions with regard to criminality. It would sack public servants with whom it does not agree. When it disdainfully portrayed the Garda in a historic setting, it was deeply upsetting to many members of An Garda Síochána. I know this because they were in contact with me. I am not just referring to the public statement from the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI. It was deeply offensive and I assure the House that the non-apology was not an apology and was not enough.

I wish to refer to an important aspect of this discussion, which Deputy Gino Kenny passionately referred to. While I do not agree with everything he said, I agree with some parts of it. As the co-author of a justice committee report in 2015 on the Portuguese drugs model, I know he is absolutely correct.

We need to change radically the way we deal with drugs in this country. I have no desire, nor will I ever vote, to legalise drugs, but I will happily vote to decriminalise drugs and for the matter to be treated appropriately as a health issue, not a criminal issue. We will deal with criminals quite differently from the way we deal with the drug user, particularly a person who is hooked on drugs and needs the support of the State and is not getting it at the moment.

The Portuguese drugs model has been successful, despite what one of my colleagues on this side of the House believes. It has seen significant reductions in crime associated with drug use and a significant reduction in the number of people incarcerated because of drug use. That is an outrageous success, as far as I am concerned. I have been calling for such a model since that report was published and I am one of several present Members who co-authored the report, of which I am proud to this day. I have recently been reappointed to the justice committee but, unfortunately, I did not take part in the current Oireachtas committee report on drugs, which I do not agree with because it goes down the rabbit hole of partial or legal use. I am sorry but I just do not think that a drug that we know causes harm should be legalised. If we were to have a conversation about alcohol or cigarettes or nicotine a few hundred years ago, they would be banned. I do not see why, just because this is a huge problem, we should just give up the fight. There are better and smarter ways of fighting.

I think the citizens' assembly will be a great opportunity for this House to use the wisdom of 100 people, as we have with a number of other discussions, to help us to form and to formulate a view which I think will be to the betterment of our citizenry. I very much look forward to that. I will be earwigging in the halls of the Grand Hotel over the next few months as they deliberate on the decision.

We must build stronger, safer communities that allow all residents to pursue their dreams, to be free from the intimidation of criminality and to take pride in their localities. Fine Gael is very consistently committed to this ideal and will not stop until it is achieved. It is our ultimate duty in public life to strive for this future, and we cannot betray that duty.

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