The House has debated crime on previous occasions. I mentioned the case involving Brian Fitzgerald but others are relevant, including that of Veronica Guerin, who was murdered in the course of pursuing organised crime involving drugs importation. It took her murder to get society to accept that action we might otherwise have considered to be a little extreme could be taken. The Criminal Assets Bureau and similar legislation has been effective. In the murder of Brian Fitzgerald and other similar murders involving organised crime, the Garda can often identify not only the organised crime gang but also the professional hitman, yet the lack of sufficient evidence to prosecute a case means they remain at large. It means that the security and life – the most fundamental of all rights – of certain individuals are put at risk. In this context, I hope the courts and the Legislature will consider the convention in a manner that will balance the competing priorities in terms of rights. In this regard, a number of responsible law abiding citizens who have never been in trouble with the law have told me that they would willingly sacrifice some of their civil liberties to ensure greater security for themselves and their families.