Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I support this Bill and welcome the Minister of State, Deputy John Curran, to the House. I compliment him on his endeavours in respect of the national drugs strategy and other such issues in community affairs. It is very appropriate that this Minister of State is present because, regrettably, one of the major problems we face in society at present, not only in Dublin, Limerick or Cork but in most of our major towns, is drugs and drug related gangland crime. Unfortunately, this is a very serious and growing issue. I was deeply concerned today to read in some newspapers of a study carried out in Limerick that showed that young children of five to seven years of age are being used by these drug gangs. They are manipulated at a tender age to carry out intimidation and, in some instances, arson attacks on neighbours or anybody who may stand in the way of the illegal, furtive and dangerous activities of these drug lords.

This Bill is not before time. Its advent was heralded by the Law Reform Commission some years ago. I have no doubt it is another addendum to the armour of the Garda, the Defence Forces and the Revenue in tackling organised crime. The Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill has two important functions in this regard. As the Minister of State pointed out, the first and most basic is that it gives a legal framework to the carrying out of covert electronic surveillance and the eavesdropping, filming, monitoring of movements, the making of recordings and gathering of information for the purpose of investigating and preventing serious crime. It is important we realise this Bill deals with serious crime. We are not talking about run-of-the-mill minor misdemeanours but crimes that carry a very hefty custodial sentence for those apprehended.

The second, and equally important, issue is the question of admissibility in our courts of evidence collected. To a degree, the Bill upturns the exclusionary use of evidence which hitherto prevented such collected evidence, data and information being used in court. Evidence is collected primarily, but not exclusively, by gardaí or the Revenue Commissioners, although it is possible the Criminal Assets Bureau or the Defence Forces may be included. The Minister of State might clarify this. I have no doubt there are probably a large number of cases where the Garda and the other authorities are 99% sure of who has committed serious crimes but hitherto, because of our legal system, criminals got away on technical issues.

It is also important to note when surveillance can be used. For the first time, the Bill provides for a regulatory framework for the use of surveillance in the investigation and prevention of arrestable offences. The offences in question carry penalties of five years' imprisonment or more on conviction. The Revenue offences in question are also arrestable offences in that they carry similar sentences. My colleague, Senator Regan, made a very important point, namely, that in addition to the normal subversive organisational type of crime or drug related crimes, the legislation applies to white collar crime such as major tax scams or the smuggling of diesel, cigarettes or other such material.

It is noted that persons have rights under the Constitution and under the European Convention of Human Rights in respect of the inviolability of the dwelling, and breaches of privacy, etc. In this regard, as Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Constitution during the previous Dáil, I had close dealings with Article 40.3.1° and Articles 6 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The admissibility of material obtained through surveillance as evidence, therefore, is contingent on it being deemed compliant with both the Constitution and the ECHR. It is a belt and braces set-up.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties often forewarns legislators and Members of this House of doubts and pitfalls when bringing forward legislation. I put on record and welcome, as did my colleague Senator Regan, that the ICCL, by and large, has welcomed and supported this concept.

There is no doubt that intelligence-led operations, especially by the Garda, are the way to solve crimes. Regrettably, we are dealing now with very intelligent, ruthless and sophisticated gangs on our streets who are supported by and have links with gangs not just in Europe and the United States but throughout the world. They have the most sophisticated methods. It is worth noting also that even though we are making strides to prevent it happening, in many instances serious crime is being directed from prisons and prison cells. We think that when a person gets a sentence of 15 or 20 years behind bars he or she is locked up, secure and safe. Regrettably, we still have not stamped out communication and direction of criminal activities, threats and the issuing of fear in one form or another from prison cells.

I was delighted some months ago to visit the Midlands Prison. It was an education to see the mechanisms, trickery and chicanery used by criminal gangs working inside and outside, getting mobile telephones into prisons and all sorts of devices being hidden in shoes and other such methods. I was very impressed by the search methods and stringent security checks like those at airports that ensure people do not bring in illicit drugs or any kind of weapons. Even simple items can be adapted for weapons or for mobile telephone use in prisons. That has serious implications.

It is important also to note that in the operation of the surveillance framework, the Bill provides for a system requiring authorisations and approvals to be given for the use of surveillance devices in security operations aimed at investigating and preventing arrestable offences. Such authorisation will be issued only on application to a District Court judge who must be satisfied on the evidence presented to the court by a superior officer of the Garda, Defence Forces or Revenue Commissioners that the surveillance is both necessary and is the least intrusive method available. In general, such authorisation will be required for surveillance to take place but there are two exceptions where approval from a superior officer will allow the surveillance to be initiated. For the purpose of this Bill, a superior officer is at least the rank of a superintendent in the case of the Garda, a colonel in the case of the Defence Forces and a principal officer in the case of the Revenue Commissioners.

I note the two exceptions. The first exception is in exceptionally urgent situations where there is no time to get a court authorisation and there is a risk of a person evading justice, committing an offence or where information or evidence regarding a crime may be destroyed. In such cases, the superior officer must be satisfied that the surveillance is necessary and the least intrusive method available. There is a strict time limit of 72 hours for the use of approved surveillance. If the surveillance is to continue, an authorisation must be sought from a judge within the 72 hour period.

The duration of the surveillance is important. It must be noted that authorisations are valid for up to three months but can be renewed on application to the court. Emergency approvals are only valid for 72 hours and cannot be renewed, as a new authorisation must be sought. Tracking device approvals are valid for up to four months.

The issue of confidentiality is also important. Strict rules govern the storage and disclosure of material connected with surveillance in order to protect the integrity of the surveillance system and the security of all parties involved. It will be a criminal offence to disclose any such information. I imagine the section on confidentiality refers to possible leaks, particularly to newspapers. Often we wonder how our excellent crime correspondents have information as soon as, if not quicker than, the Garda.

This is excellent legislation that, among other legislation in the past 12 years in particular, creates a significant plate in the armoury of the Garda and the Defence Forces in the fight against crime. In this regard, I wish the Bill a speedy passage through the House.