Dáil debates

Wednesday, 9 April 2008

9:00 pm

Photo of Kieran O'DonnellKieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this most important matter for Limerick city. I raised this issue earlier on the Order of Business with the Taoiseach and I am delighted it is now being debated in the Dáil. It has been the subject of much media comment and the Dáil is the one area in which it should be discussed because we can effect legislative changes that will deal with this issue that has affected Limerick for a number of years. There was a fatality in recent days, which is very difficult for Mark Maloney's family, and we pass on our sympathy to them.

I pay tribute to the tremendous work done by the Garda Síochána in Limerick in dealing with gangland crime in these very difficult circumstances. Limerick is a fantastic city but additional resources must be provided by the Government together with new legislative measures to ensure that gangland crime is tackled. We must ensure that innocent people living in Limerick are safe and the image of the city is not diminished. A small minority of people is responsible for the problem in Limerick and we must deal with it head on.

In this regard I propose the following additional measures be implemented to assist the Garda Síochána and the other State agencies to properly tackle gangland crime in Limerick. Legislation must be enacted as a matter of urgency to first make gang membership a specific criminal offence. Second, measures must be put in place to enable the Garda Síochána to go to court and obtain exclusion orders preventing gangland criminals from entering certain areas of the city. Powers of permanent surveillance must also be introduced. When I raised this matter earlier with the Taoiseach I demanded that the criminal justice miscellaneous provisions Bill be introduced to the Dáil as a matter of urgency to enable these measures to be put in place. The response I got is that the Bill will be dealt with in this session. The Bill should be introduced early in this session, as early as possible because it is most important that we put these measures in place.

A mandatory minimum sentence of ten years for illegal possession of firearms should be imposed in the majority of cases by judges. That is not happening. Life sentence for murder must be a genuine deterrent. The minimum sentence to be served should be 25 years. I feel very strongly about this. If a person is caught in possession of an illegal firearm, he should not be granted bail. Many of the atrocities that happen in Limerick have occurred when people have been out on bail. This matter should be examined.

The 30 remaining gardaí who were promised under the John Fitzgerald report should be provided as a matter of urgency. We have 70 new gardaí and they are very welcome in Limerick, but the situation is such that the Garda needs the extra resources on the ground. When the John Fitzgerald report was originally published it proposed 100 gardaí for a smaller area than the regeneration area, but that has been overlooked. Seventy extra gardaí have come to the city of Limerick but it was suggested that 100 gardaí should specifically be allocated for the regeneration areas. The Government should honour that commitment and put at least those extra 30 gardaí in place.

The Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, must be established in Limerick to tackle the criminals head on, especially in the area of drug dealing. The Government must immediately put extra measures in place to block the drugs coming in through ports and airports. When the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, was Minister with responsibility for children he promised that extra judges would be put in place for the Children's Court. They need to be provided. Currently, in many cases children must commit four offences before they reach the Children's Court. They then have to wait six months for their case to be heard. Parental supervision orders must be used increasingly through the Children's Court as a means of holding parents accountable. A study carried out in 2007 revealed that out of a sample of 400 children attending the Children's Court, 86% of them were not attending school and 30% were involved in alcohol-related crimes.

I want the Minister to give a commitment tonight to the deployment of 30 extra gardaí in Limerick as a matter of urgency and, second, that the legislative measures that I proposed will be put in place as a matter of urgency and that the criminal justice miscellaneous provisions Bill will be brought before the Dáil in the coming weeks.

Photo of Brian Lenihan JnrBrian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy O'Donnell for raising this matter. I assure him that I share his concern and the concern of all right-thinking citizens about gangland crime in general and particularly in Limerick.

I strongly condemn the killing of Mark Maloney and James Cronin in such callous circumstances and extend my sympathy to their families. The House will be aware that a person has been charged in connection with one of the killings. I am informed that the Garda is making progress in the investigation of the second killing. The House will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on these cases at this time. The rapidity of the Garda response in these instances is an illustration of the enormous concentration of Garda personnel that is already deployed in the Limerick area.

It is well known that there has been for some time a vicious feud between factions in Limerick and a series of tit-for-tat killings. The people involved, through their activities, are ruining their own lives and the lives of others and future generations. This vicious spiral has to stop. As chief superintendent Keane in Limerick stated, there are no winners on any side in this feud. Instead it is resulting in death, serious injuries, disabilities and long terms of imprisonment.

The Garda will continue to take resolute action to meet the challenges posed by the gangs. The Commissioner has adopted a hard-policing approach and has deployed a unit from the emergency response unit, ERU, on a 24-hour basis. The ERU team is under the supervision of local Garda management and is operating through a series of patrolling and checkpoints. The ERU deployment provides support for regular policing activities and at the same time provides reassurance to the law-abiding communities of Limerick. The ERU assignment is additional to the number already delivered on foot of the Fitzgerald commitment of 70 gardaí which Deputy O'Donnell fairly acknowledged.

The areas most affected are intensively policed, with additional resources, both armed and uniform, being deployed at short notice depending on intelligence received or in response to incidents involving feuding factions. Currently two armed patrols exclusively cover two of the most affected areas of the city on a 24-hour basis. The operation of the gangs in these areas is kept under constant surveillance.

Reference has been made in the House and elsewhere in recent days to the issue of covert surveillance operations. The Garda undertakes this activity on a regular basis. Deputies should appreciate, however, that it is not normal practice for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to divulge the character and nature of these operations in the House. The Garda uses covert operations and methods of surveillance on a daily basis and in a targeted manner, including against suspected gang members. Gardaí also have recourse to telephone intercepts and call related information. Deputies will appreciate that for obvious reasons it would not be appropriate for me to detail the nature and extent of this monitoring.

The Garda has had significant successes in recent years in meeting the evolving challenge of policing Limerick as a result of active monitoring on a daily basis and proactive and preventive policing measures based on intelligence received. The intensity of the Garda operation is reflected in the fact that 70 firearms of all types and calibres were recovered in Limerick division in 2007 and 80 in 2006. There are no grounds for complacency and the challenge will remain for some time.

Considerable resources will continue to be put into containing and pursuing this gang activity. Whatever resources are necessary will be provided by the Commissioner. There is no question of reducing Garda overtime for tackling gangland crime. There has been a significant increase in the number of personnel deployed. An additional 70 officers have been deployed to Limerick in the past 12 months, bringing the total strength there to 602, the highest number ever deployed in the Limerick division. By comparison, at the end of 1997 there were 423 personnel, 42% fewer than at present. I confirm in reply to the Deputy's demand for further increases that the Commissioner intends to increase personnel strength further in the course of this year.

At the same time as confronting gang related crime, the Garda is committed to the community policing ethos. Almost 80 officers are dedicated exclusively to community policing patrols, particularly in the areas of highest concern. I welcome the very active joint policing committee functioning in Limerick city, a useful forum for the Garda.

The law against gangland activity is exceptionally robust. The Deputy seeks that gangland membership be made a specific criminal offence. I remind the House that the Criminal Justice Act 2006 already criminalises the involvement of a person with a criminal gang, punishable by up to five years' imprisonment. The offence is one of contributing to or participation in an activity of a criminal organisation where the intention is to enhance the ability of or facilitate the organisation to commit a serious offence.

Photo of Kieran O'DonnellKieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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How many convictions have been secured under the legislation?

Photo of John O'DonoghueJohn O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The time for the debate has expired.