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

It is 21 years since we had the Hederman report on the Offences against the State Act. Many of that report's recommendations are similar to those of the report we have before us in the past week. I was thinking about this. We seem to have a situation whereby we generate reports continually but do not implement them or do much about them.

That needs to change, and it needs to do so quickly. The report came out 21 years ago because it was written into the Good Friday Agreement that emergency legislation relating to the conflict, North and South, would be examined and reviewed and, where possible, rescinded because it was considered to be conflict-related legislation. We all accept that there are aspects of it that are primarily used now in regard to the very violent criminal gangs which, in the main, plague our communities with drugs, violence and all of that. They have huge power, a massive network and many are international in nature. We have to have 21st century legislation to deal with that and firm legislation to protect communities and people, including jurors and witnesses and everyone involved in the system including gardaí. We want to see that put in place. We want to build consensus with the Minister and everyone else in the House to do so. That is why we accept what is in the report from the experts who were appointed by the Minister’s predecessor, Deputy Flanagan. After the general election in 2020, I spoke to the then Minister, Deputy Flanagan, about this matter. Initially, he was resistant to having a review because he felt that would be to concede that there was something wrong with the legislation. He did not want to do that, but he eventually came around and said he would establish the review. He is to be commended for that.

It was always our view, and I think it was the view of most people in the Opposition, that if there was a reasonable examination of this legislation that the issues we have been raising on this side of the House for decades would be seen to be a problem and the idea of having recourse to non-jury courts on a continual basis was something that should be re-examined and was something that should not happen. Other aspects of what was put in place, such as the evidence of a senior garda and how the whole system works, including the referral to the Special Criminal Court worked, did not work. They have been the subject of criticism internationally by the United Nations and Amnesty International. They were also criticised by organisations on this island. Everyone recognised there was a problem in this regard. That is now outlined in a report compiled by a group of people who have studied the facts and have made proposals.

We want to build consensus with everyone in the context of implementing those proposals in a speedy manner. We do not want to be back here next year, the year after and the year after that doing the same thing over and over. If we are obliged to implement emergency legislation on an annual basis for decades, it is no longer emergency legislation. We need to recognise that. We want to build consensus. If we can do so, then we will support that consensus. I was disappointed when the Minister stated that the Government will not support our amendment. All it says is that we should implement the report, the conclusions of which set out many of the issues which have been subject of fraught debates over the years. They are sensible recommendations which would benefit our criminal justice system in the long run. The Minister of all people should recognise and understand that. It is 2023, not 1998 or 1978. We are in a different world and a different Ireland. We need to recognise that. We also have new challenges mainly from criminal gangs which are a scourge on our community. We have to have firm legislation for that, and we will. We are committed to delivering that kind of legislation but we are also committed to ensuring that we have the apparatus to deal with these people. In that context, we need to make sure that An Garda Síochána is strong enough, that our court system is efficient and effective and that our prison system is adequate. None of those things is adequate right now. The Minister has to take responsibility for that as well.

I do not want to be critical of the Government. I want to ensure that we can work together, deliver and find a consensus and support it in order to deliver something for everyone. It is vitally important that we have legislation that does not meet with the wrath of international and national organisations of high repute. We want to make sure that does not happen; it has been happening, but this is an opportunity to move away from that if the recommendations in the report are implemented. If we get into government, we will implement them. However, I hope that they will be implemented long before that and that we can build consensus to do so. I ask the Minister to reconsider her position on our amendment. It was tabled in good faith in order to try to build consensus, move the situation forward and get away from the annual circus we have every year.

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