Aideen Hayden (Labour)

I wish to respond to Senator Byrne's comments about the Labour Party. We have a proud record in defending individual rights, including the right to a jury trial, and we make no apologies for that. History shows us that previous Governments which rolled back on individual civil liberties did so on the basis of claims of necessity that were incorrect. The result was that the response of the State was far in excess of the threat presented at the time. However, that does not make us blind to the fact that circumstances arise where it is necessary to roll back on civil liberties.

When Senator Cullinane pointed out that members of Sinn Féin have been threatened by some of the organisations that remain at large in this country he helped to make the Government's case. We do not live in a society in which people can walk down the street without fear of their lives being taken from them. Until we find ourselves in a society in which that is possible, we have to recognise that we do not have the freedom of allowing for a jury trial in all circumstances.

From my experience of working on housing issues in vulnerable urban communities I am well aware of the level of fear and intimidation that obtains in deprived parts of the country. Areas which suffer high levels of unemployment and deprivation suffer far more from criminals than the middle class gated estates of suburban Ireland. That is the reality. The people who the Labour Party seek to protect by supporting this motion live in poor and deprived circumstances in the blackspots of this country. We make no apologies for supporting it.