Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

Molaim an Seanadóir Doherty as ucht na húsáide a bhaineann sé as an Ghaeilge. Tá Gaeilge Chúige Uladh iontach deacair do na daoine a bhí ar scoil i gCúige Mumhan nó i gCuige Laighean. B'fhéidir go mbeadh sé sásta Gaeilge níos simplí a úsáid anseo.

During the past ten years that I have been a Member of this House and for many years prior to that we have had debates on crime. As previous speakers said, it is customary for the Opposition to be critical of the Administration and for the Administration to defend itself. Over that period and from time immemorial, going back to the time of Adam and Eve, serious crime has been committed. That has not changed and crime will always be with us. Therefore, the question that should come under review is the manner in which we address crime in the interests of the vast majority of people who are law abiding and wish to go about their daily lives without fear, intimidation or worse from those who engage in criminal activity.

We do not have the recipe in terms of tackling this problem quite right. Recently and in previous debates I mentioned that a friend said to me many years ago in the context of comparing drug-related crime to prohibition in the United States in the 1930s that we should legalise them. I disagreed strongly with him; I did not believe it was the right thing to do. However, I have come to the conclusion that it is a proposition which needs to be carefully analysed and examined.

Many addicts are involved in petty crime to fund their addiction. The gang lords make millions of euro out of the racket. As we have seen in this city, throughout the country, across Europe and in the western world in particular — I am sure we will see this happen in other countries as they become more affluent — they take the law into their own hands and have a total disregard for the lives, property and rights of others. Any initiatives I have seen taken in other jurisdictions appear to only scratch at the surface. From time to time our newspapers highlight drug seizures to the value of many millions of euro but the drugs that are not being found are multiples of those quantities discovered by the gardaí and police in other jurisdictions. I am not necessarily advocating that we legalise it but we must take a different approach to the problem.

Last night some Members had a meeting with the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of the British Parliament which was examining prisons here. Its members were going to visit the Dóchas Centre and Wheatfield. It has always struck me as somewhat odd that if someone is sentenced to prison for eight years, providing he or she behaves himself or herself in prison, he or she will get a remission of up to 25% of the original sentence. In many instances, the crimes committed are serious. I was a member of the child protection committee that was set up last year in response to some of the controversies that arose. A sex offender can get remission without ever availing of any form of rehabilitative measures to correct his particular disposition in that regard. He is released back into society with a high probability of reoffending. That does not make sense to anybody. We need to return to the point of noting the issues on a blank sheet, namely, that we need to protect society, accept that some level of crime will be committed and consider that we must do to tackle it. Those are the issues.

Some people are sent to prison for minor crime. In many instances people are sent to prison for crimes that are not too serious but as a result of the contacts they make there they come out as serious criminals and become involved in a range of nefarious activities. We are all aware of that, yet no serious initiative is being taken to redirect people in that regard. I know a person who is in Castlerea Prison. He is there simply because he did not impress the judge when giving evidence. That type of thing should not be allowed in the judicial system.

For a long time I have been an advocate that the Judiciary should be accountable. Everybody in a republic should be accountable and measured in their performance. Nobody should be above or beyond the law. Certain crimes should be penalised by community service and the prison should be a place of last resort, only for serious criminals. The Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights discussed restorative justice and effective programmes were set up in Nenagh and Tallaght. In New Zealand the concept has been developed further.

Some people are jailed because they owe money and fail or refuse to pay it after a court order has been made. There is no reason we cannot have a system of attachments, so that the person's wage or social welfare payment can be used to make good monetary recompense.

Serious crime, such as the various murders we have seen, displays a disregard for life. We addressed that with emergency legislation in 1998 with regard to terrorist offences. Most people in towns and cities can finger exactly those involved in serious crime. Human rights advocates may disagree but why can we not arrest such people for up to three years? By that date they should be brought to court and held to account for their crimes. It is ridiculous to see those involved in heinous crimes operate with impunity.

At a wedding I attended recently a priest spoke to me about a local village. He was told by a young man that he could be supplied with any drug within 15 minutes. This is the situation across every parish in many towns and cities in Europe. We must take a new approach at European level to tackle the scourge that gives rise to much of criminal activity.