Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I am glad to present this Bill to the House. There has been much debate and commentary, inside and outside these Houses, concerning the content of the Bill and the process of its enactment. Regrettably, much of it has been misleading and, for that reason, I wish to clarify again the background to and purpose of this Bill and to confirm my conviction that there should be no delay in its enactment.

In recent years there has been a significant increase in the activities of organised crime gangs, which has been accompanied by a ruthless determination to impede investigation and prosecution. As I told the Lower House, I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that there is no doubt that investigations into the criminal activities of such gangs are hampered by the unwillingness of people to come forward. Such unwillingness is a result of a fear that has grown following recent murders, including the tragic case of Roy Collins. These killings emphasise the complete disregard of those gangs for the rule of law and a determination to intimidate entire communities. Beyond the absolute tragedy of this or any murder, it confirms in the minds of the public the threat posed by these gangs and creates the climate of fear that is so conducive to the maintenance of control by criminal gangs within their communities. This was described as a wall of silence by one High Court judge and neither the Government nor the Oireachtas should stand by and let the criminal justice system be so undermined.

The threat to witnesses already is clearly accepted. Instances of intimidation of witnesses have been evidenced by withdrawn statements, refusals to testify or failure to recall events. Legislation was changed a few years ago to take this into account and despite what people have stated both inside and outside the Lower House, that has worked very well. Does anyone really suppose that groups that would kill in retaliation for a witness giving evidence would for some reason draw the line at the intimidation of jurors? I have no doubt that jurors will continue to do their duty conscientiously in a wide range of cases. However, the Garda Commissioner has made it clear that the threat is now such that in dealing with gangland crime, the effective administration of justice would be best served by the use of the Special Criminal Court.

During the debates in the Dáil, a number of Members of that House who are familiar with the communities within which these gangs operate stated their belief that jury intimidation occurs. The Minister for Defence, Deputy O'Dea, set out the situation during the 2003 trial of Kieran Keane in Limerick and noted that, despite issuing more than 700 jury summonses, a panel of 12 could not be established. The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Peter Power, also confirmed that his city of Limerick has changed radically in the past ten years and spoke of how dozens of people come to his constituency office each year with fear in their eyes following a call to serve on a jury in Limerick. Deputy O'Donnell of Fine Gael also stated that intimidation was rife in that community. The Minister, Deputy O'Dea, and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Power, also related the disturbing tale of being photographed and filmed by criminal gangs on the day they joined thousands of citizens on a march in that city following the brutal murder of Roy Collins. Deputy Finian McGrath spoke of the situation in Dublin and confirmed the concern of his constituents should they be asked to sit on a jury dealing with gangland crime. Other Deputies on both sides of the Dáil spoke strongly in favour of the Bill. This support was further reflected by the large majority which passed this Bill last Friday. However, I emphasise again that the Government introduced this Bill on foot of strong advice from the Garda Síochána to the effect there is a level of fear and intimidation in those areas in which the aforementioned criminal gangs operate.

It may be argued that the fear expounded by the Deputies and others is based on the perception of persons within the community rather than actual instances of jury intimidation. Unlike the recanting of witness statements, which are often a clear indication of intimidation, an unwillingness by jurors to come forward with complaints of intimidation makes proving such interference with the justice system extremely difficult. However, I remind Senators of the comments of Mr. Michael Murray, the State solicitor in Limerick, when speaking on "The Week In Politics" on 5 July, that in the recent past he had asked the Garda to investigate a case in which a juror was clearly frightened. Furthermore, in his view, the atmosphere had been poisoned to such a degree that people were reluctant to serve on juries. He went on to state that the verdict handed down in that particular trial differed from that which was expected and that he believed this was because of intimidation of that juror and a number of other jurors on that jury. Last Sunday's edition of The Sunday Tribune reported former High Court judge Feargus Flood as stating he had presided over gangland trials in which he believed juries had returned the wrong verdict. The stark fact is that members of such gangs have displayed a callous disregard for human life and a brazen contempt for their communities. They have come to believe that they can take on the criminal justice system and act as a law unto themselves. It is beyond question that criminal gangs will try to take whatever action is open to them to thwart the criminal justice system.

The Government decision to provide for a limited number of specific offences pertaining to organised crime to be prosecuted in the Special Criminal Court was not taken lightly. It was based on the strong advice of the Garda Commissioner and took account of information provided by him and others involved in the criminal justice system, which detailed instances of threats and intimidation. Furthermore, I am introducing offences here today that are inextricably linked to organised crime. A person will not be before the court on a murder, firearms or drugs charge but on a charge of directing the activities of a criminal organisation or of participating or contributing to a criminal organisation. The impact of that fact alone on the likelihood of successfully intimidating a prospective juror cannot be ignored.

Alternatives to scheduling these offences were considered. However, options such as sequestering jurors, using jurors outside the community from which the defendant comes, shielding jurors from sight of the open court or providing round the clock protection for jurors are not viable and will not guarantee freedom from intimidation. The Government questioned the Garda in this regard and it mostly is because the Twenty-six Counties is a very small community. The tentacles of these criminal gangs extend beyond the geographic parts from which they originate into many other regions, as can be demonstrated by some high profile murders that have been carried out on contract by these criminals. These gangs have sophisticated networks capable of identifying those they perceive as thwarting their activities, and their ability to carry out surveillance is evidenced by the increase in recent years in tiger kidnappings. In the view of the Government and the Garda Commissioner, the Special Criminal Court and its non-jury format is the single most effective means of successfully prosecuting such gangs and one should not wait for a further escalation in intimidation.

The enactment of this legislation is crucial. Those who state it can be delayed until the autumn ignore the point that at present under Irish law there is no offence of directing organised crime. Until the Bill is enacted, the steps to investigate, charge and ultimately prosecute those who are directing others in the commission of organised crime offences cannot be taken. I have heard some comments in recent weeks that the passage of the legislation should be delayed until September. The reasoning is that, because the courts will not be sitting until then, these charges will not be prosecutable in those courts. However, criminal law is not retrospective and were the Government to wait until September, no one could be charged in the meantime with any of the proposed new offences.