Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I did not do so earlier, I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to the family of Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh. I had the pleasure of meeting him on many occasions. I know people remember him fondly for many different reasons, in particular his wonderful and colourful coverage of our national sports. Later on, as the Minister of State with responsibility for older people, I had the pleasure of meeting him at many events where he advocated for and on behalf of the older people's councils and other groups. He always had a particular joke that he said at most events he was at. No matter how many times I heard it, I always found it amusing. He had a great humour and wit. I just want to acknowledge his sad passing. I pass on my condolences to his family.

I firmly believe that the renewal of these Acts is essential in safeguarding the citizens of this country in these turbulent times, internationally. When we talk about the threat of terrorism and terrorist activity, that threat is real and that threat is there. We need to make sure our gardaí have all the tools and the armoury they need to be able to deal with and respond to any potential threat as it may arise. While much of this legislation came about because of historic challenges, the very fact that only a few weeks ago an explosive device was found in County Louth - the county right next to mine - just shows how real this dissident threat still is in our country. We all need to be alive to this and be aware of it.

I am here because An Garda Síochána has said very clearly that it needs this legislation to protect against these types of threats and to protect against the organised crime groups and criminals so many Deputies have spoken about here. I have listened to all of the contributions and in particular to Deputies Ward, Gould and Quinlivan, who all spoke of the devastating impact that organised criminal groups have in their communities, especially on young people. While we all agree that we need to do everything we can to protect communities from these crime groups, at the same time and in the same breath they propose to remove the very structure that is there, which is a strong armoury for the Garda to be able to respond to these groups. What was said here today does not make sense. Yes, we need the tools for the Garda to be able to respond to and tackle these criminal groups but at the same time Sinn Féin will possibly abstain - it has always voted against it - in the vote on the very thing that can actually protect communities from these organised crime groups.

It is important to note that a lot of other work has been done to protect communities and the Garda. The highest budget ever has seen an increase of 23% in the last three years. We are investing in vehicles and in technology. A new Garda aircraft will be used for surveillance in dealing with criminal organised groups. Laws have been passed to deal with the coercion of minors, again targeting criminal groups. We are investing in our youth diversion programmes and the Greentown project. Garda recruitment has been my number one priority, and we have had two recruitment campaigns in the last two years. In the next two years we will have increased the retirement age. We have increased the age at which people can join An Garda Síochána. We are investing in and supporting gardaí through body-worn cameras that are now on our gardaí in Dublin city centre to protect them while making sure any individual who assaults a member of An Garda Síochána receives a higher sentence if he or she is found accountable.

It is quite galling to hear particular individuals point out or suggest that I do not support the Garda when members of their own party have travelled to pick up people from our prisons who have actually killed members of An Garda Síochána. Everything that this Government can do, and that I as the Minister can do, we will do to protect gardaí. We will make sure they have the tools, the technology, the equipment and the armoury they need to deal with criminal gangs, criminal organised groups, and subversive and terrorist threats and organisations. This is why the continuation of the Acts is absolutely necessary. The Garda has made it very clear that this is required.

With regard to the review, when I was appointed as Minister for Justice one of the first things I did was to commit to conducting the review that my predecessor had agreed to. That review was only published last year. It is a really important piece of work. The minority and majority reports set out a number of proposed recommendations and changes. In some cases, they are completely at odds and in others, they completely agree. It is very important that any changes or potential changes are not rushed. This very important legislation has protected people, has saved lives and has helped to keep many of us safe, including jurors. Any rush to change it or to remove what we currently have without anything in its place is not something I would ever tolerate.

Work is under way. A huge amount of work has been done to look at and bring forward proposed potential changes based on the minority and majority reports. Once that work is concluded, it will be carefully considered by the Government. As always, we will have an opportunity to debate it in this House and to bring forward changes. For now it is absolutely clear that this legislation is needed. I call on all Deputies, as there is nothing to replace this, to reconsider abstaining or voting against this. Without it, we are playing into the hands of dissident groups or organised criminals.

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