Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I salute the mayor of Limerick and the large numbers of people who live in that city who came out to express their revulsion at recent killings and criminal activities which have occurred there and which were carried out by a small number of criminal thugs. For a number of months, Fine Gael Senators have been calling for strong measures to be taken in respect of gangland crime. The perpetrators of this form crime are running amok at present. On Sunday last, the Minister for Defence stated that the Cabinet was to meet this week to discuss the introduction of strong measures to combat this type of crime. Those of us on this side of the House would fully support any initiatives in this regard. When will legislation to deal with this matter be introduced? We need measures of the type to which the Minister referred to remove these criminal thugs from our society.

If a Member on one side of the House makes a threat against a Member on the other side, he or she should be obliged to explain his or her comments. I will not name names in this regard because everyone is aware of what was said earlier. When comments are made to the effect that a particular Senator was castigated by another Member of the House, the person bringing the charge should be asked to explain his or her comments. I do not believe those types of comments should be allowed to be made in the House without being backed up.