Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is absolutely correct that this House should unreservedly condemn the depraved murders that have taken place in the past few days. "Depraved" was the word used by the deputy commissioner. I echo the points made by several Senators, not least by Senator Leyden, in calling for full support for An Garda Síochána in its efforts to unearth the perpetrators of these outrageous crimes. They are depraved. How far has our society sunk?

It is somewhat ironic that the Minister for Justice and Equality is from the party that has perpetuated the view that it is the law and order party in the State. This is at a time when we in this House and local councils have debated the various closures of Garda stations across the country. There are more closures proposed. The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors issued a statement this morning in which, I glean from the subtext, it more or less pleaded with the Minister for Justice and Equality to ensure there would be no further reductions in Garda resources. I know that each time the Garda calls for more resources, the then Minister states unlimited resources will be provided and that there are sufficient and adequate resources in place. It is obvious that there are not. If the trend is to have a number crunching exercise encompassing the reduction in the number of Garda personnel and the closure of Garda stations, with the Department believing this does not have an adverse social impact, the officials are living in cloud-cuckoo-land.

As Senator MacSharry stated in his proposed amendment to the Order of Business, it is incumbent on the Minister for Justice and Equality to appear before this House. I have no doubt that he will be appearing before the other House but he should come before this one to outline exactly his response to the most recent carnage and murders. The murders are not only gangland murders because the Sligo murder is not such a crime. I commiserate with all those who have suffered as a result of this.

To reiterate the words of Senator Leyden, there are people who know who carried out these crimes. There are always people who know. There are people who know who killed a man in Sligo and who shot the other individuals. It is incumbent on anyone with information to bring it forward.