Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I rise to express the support of Fianna Fáil for the motion. Section 8 is a very important section of the 2009 Act. I was delighted to be a Member of the Oireachtas which passed the Act. We received the support of Fine Gael at the time, although there was some dispute among the Opposition. Most elements of the political system supported the legislation.

Gangland crime is a serious problem in Ireland. While the right to a trial by jury is generally a fundamental one in the common law world - the system of Government that comes from the British - it is not universal throughout the democratic world. Certainly, it is not that common on the Continent. It is something we value hugely - certainly I do - but it is not unusual in democracies to have non-jury trials. The Special Criminal Court is the suitable forum to try cases of serious organised crime, including the directing of a criminal organisation, participating in its activities, facilitating an offence by one or committing an offence on its behalf. I do not see the argument against it. We are asking jurors, who are our fellow citizens, to take huge risks with their lives and for their families where these cases come before the ordinary courts. The ordinary courts are not suitable. I do not see the controversy in using a Special Criminal Court in these cases. It is, in fact, the logical and practical thing to do and it is not out of step with the rest of the democratic world. The jury trial is not universal, notwithstanding that I do support it, as I have said.

Part of this debate today is that we must send a message from the Houses that we are united on the prosecution of these offences. I also appeal to the Government to consider Garda resources. Garda numbers are falling in many stations and we do not have a dedicated gun crime unit in west Dublin. While the legislation is crucial, we must look at the resourcing of An Garda Síochána and see how capable it is of dealing with these crimes and how capable its vehicles are of driving to the scenes of these crimes and chasing after these serious criminals. There is a great deal of information in the public domain suggesting that gardaí are not properly resourced at the moment. We support the Minister in every effort she makes to secure funding from her Cabinet colleagues, in particular the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, to ensure the legislation is matched with appropriate resources.

We will support this 100%. Any support we give to allow a division to take place is simply to allow such division to take place, in case there is any confusion as there was on the last occasion.