Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I thank most of the speakers for their support for this motion. Senator Byrne made reference to organised criminals in rural Ireland. It is a real issue that individuals are using our motorway system to act as predators on isolated elderly people in rural communities. The Garda Síochána has taken serious action, as part of Operation Fiacla, to target those engaged in such activities. The force has had some success in identifying individuals behaving in this way but I must be careful in what I say so I do not prejudice imminent prosecutions. There have been instances where elderly people are the victims of barbaric physical abuse at the hands of those who sought to invade the privacy of their homes and rob them. They seemed to take some pleasure in causing the maximum amount of distress to people who are unable to defend themselves. These individuals are nothing more than cowards preying on communities. I praise the Garda Síochána for the substantial work done in this area and for the considerable success that will become evident in the context of cases dealt with in our courts in the next 12 months.

This is a crucial item of legislation in tackling organised crime. The context of the facility of the Special Criminal Court hearing cases is not being abused, despite the view of Senator Cullinane. It is a fallback, to ensure that no one engaged in organised crime feels entitled to impunity. We have seen instances of people prepared to threaten and intimidate jurors and put their lives at risk or lead them to believe their lives are at risk. People doing public service serving on juries are entitled to know they are safe. In the context of adjudication of cases before the Special Criminal Court, all of the rules of evidence and constitutional protection that apply to individuals apply to any prosecution before the Special Criminal Court. The only difference is that the outcome is determined by members of the Judiciary as opposed to jurors. When dealing with terrorism or organised crime, if individuals prepared to engage in illegality believe they can be immune from prosecution through the intimidation of jurors, it is of crucial importance that we have an independent court to determine properly, according to law and the Constitution, any prosecutions taken. We have an appropriate appellant system that provides oversight. When Senator Cullinane speaks about these areas, he is not talking about reality. He is talking about a theoretical world that exists in the heads of members of Sinn Féin, which is detached from the reality of the threat posed by subversives and criminal gangs.