Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)

Again, I rise in this House to offer the full support of the Fianna Fáil Party for the motion to continue the operation of section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009. I say that in light of our majority here today, but also in light of the fact that the Labour Party opposed this legislation in 2009. In fact, Deputy Tommy Broughan lost the party whip for voting with the then Fianna Fáil Government on this gangland legislation. The Bill was considered necessary by many victims of gangland crime - I will not name them here - who were vociferous about the need for this type of legislation. There was a lot of speculation that these provisions would never be used, although that did not mean they were not necessary. However, I was heartened by the conviction under this Act which took place in Galway last week or the week before. That was certainly welcome.

Gangs are operating insidiously around the country, and we in the commuter belt are becoming more and more exposed to gangland activities. Many of those involved in organised crime have come to live in County Meath and other counties that have easy road access to Dublin, and the unfortunate result is that many people are living in fear. There is one particular parish in east Meath to which a gangland family moved, and it is noticeable, if one walks down the roads around where they live, that almost every house and cottage has electronic gates. It is an extraordinary sight in the middle of rural County Meath. From Land Commission cottages to big mansions, everybody has electronic gates because people are living in fear of individuals who have moved into the area. In other cases specific individuals are being targeted by organised criminals, including a good friend of mine who had the traumatic experience of being visited in the dead of night by a gang dressed as gardaí.

We need to introduce the toughest legislation possible and the Garda will have to deploy sufficient resources to the commuter belt to respond effectively to threats. The people who are involved in crime are using our excellent road network to get in and out of these areas quickly in order to avoid detection. It is noticeable that many of the robberies occur in locations that are relatively accessible from national primary routes and motorways. The problem has to be addressed in our area before crime reaches the levels that obtain in parts of Dublin and Limerick. While I hope the Labour Party has had a change of heart on this legislation, we are prepared to support the Government if it decides to pull a wobbly.