Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This resolution will provide for the continuation in operation of section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 for a 12-month period beginning on 30 June 2015. The 2009 Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act was enacted as a response to a number of difficulties being experienced and where the entire justice system was under serious threat. At that time, Senators may remember that organised criminal gangs were behaving as though they were untouchable by the Garda and the courts and that could not be allowed to continue. The House will also recall certain dreadful crimes where the gangs involved acted in a way that betrayed their willingness to undermine the very operation of our criminal justice system, if not society itself.

Hand in hand with the disregard for human life was the intimidation of whole communities to prevent people co-operating with the forces of law and order to bring these people to justice. There was also significant evidence of intimidation of witnesses and it was clear that these people were prepared to go to any lengths to thwart the operation of the justice system. Clearly, these gangs had no regard for the rights of others or for our societal values. Gardaí were, at that time, encountering difficulties in persuading people to give assistance in their investigations. In the circumstances, it was imperative that the Government and the Oireachtas took the necessary steps to ensure that the criminal justice system was robust enough to withstand the assault launched upon it through intimidation of and violence towards witnesses and jurors.

The measures contained in the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 were designed to tilt the balance firmly in favour of the rule of law and justice and instil confidence in that criminal gangs were not going to be permitted to frustrate criminal investigations or prosecutions of their activities. In view of the very real threat which these gangs posed, the Act provided for a limited number of specific "organised crime" offences to be prosecuted in the Special Criminal Court. The proposal to use the Special Criminal Court for a limited number of organised crime offences removed the possibility of jury tampering or intimidation of jurors. The purpose of section 8, therefore, is to ensure that organised criminal gangs cannot interfere with the criminal process to determine the outcome of cases. To this end, the section declares that the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice and the preservation of public peace and order with respect to certain offences. The offences in question are the organised crime offences under Part 7 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

Briefly, the offences in question are directing the activities of a criminal organisation, participating in or contributing to certain activities of a criminal organisation, committing a serious offence for a criminal organisation and liability for offences committed by a body corporate. Section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 makes these scheduledoffences for the purposes of Part V of the Offences against the State Act 1939. This means that the Special Criminal Court will hear prosecutions for the offences in question but the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, may still exercise her power to direct that the offences should be tried in the ordinary courts. Permitting the DPP this discretion maintains the fundamental balance in deciding which cases are appropriate to be tried in the Special Criminal Court.

A further bulwark in maintaining this balance is provided in section 8(4) of the 2009 Act. It provides that the section shall cease to be in operation unless a resolution has been passed by each House of the Oireachtas, resolving that it should continue in operation for a further period to be decided by the Oireachtas. That, as I have said, is the purpose of moving today's resolution. A report on this, as on the other motion we discussed, has been laid before the Houses.

The reasons for which the Government and I, as Minister, are seeking the renewal of section 8 are clear. Organised crime continues to present a significant law enforcement issue, with a number of criminal gangs continuing to engage in serious crimes. There is, unfortunately, stark evidence of the willingness of these gangs to engage in murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, drug smuggling, counterfeiting and other serious offences. We are also faced with the reality that there are growing links between paramilitary groups and organised crime. Given the nature of organised crime, the investigation and prosecution process can be lengthy and difficult. This is particularly so given the level of intimidation carried out by the criminal gangs.The 2009 Act has been in operation for at most six years and while there have been arrests under the relevant sections of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, no cases have yet come before the Special Criminal Court in accordance with section 8. However, this does not invalidate the reasoning for having such a provision available for use in appropriate circumstances. Let us be clear. If criminals are prepared to take human life, then they are quite prepared to subvert the system of justice. Accordingly, there is a necessity for legislation that anticipates this possibility to be in place. There is a responsibility on me as Minister, on the Government and on the House to ensure that our criminal law contains appropriate provisions to ensure that investigations are not hampered, and the effective administration of justice by the courts. In my view section 8 is necessary in this regard.

The use of the Act to date also serves to highlight the considered approach of the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP. It vindicates the way in which the provision is constructed, allowing her to exercise her discretion to direct that cases would be tried in the ordinary courts where there is considered to be no threat to their proper functioning.

In the report to me on the operation of section 8, the Garda Commissioner is of the clear view that the requirement for this provision remains. As Minister for Justice and Equality, I must have the utmost regard for the views of the Garda authorities in matters such as this. It is absolutely essential to ensure that the gardaí have at their disposal the best possible range of powers to face up to organised criminal gangs.

In the period under report, there have been a total of 25 arrests under the relevant provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. These relate to arrests made under section 72, participating in or contributing to certain activities of a criminal organisation - and section 73, committing an offence for a criminal organisation. Section 71A and 76 was not used in the reporting period in question. Since its inception on 23 July 2009 there have been to date a total of 259 arrests under section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009.

The Garda authorities devote considerable resources from across the Garda organisation to tackling organised crime and they deserve our praise for the successes they have had. The Commissioner has the Government's full support in tackling these issues. Those involved in organised crime are ruthless people who will stop at nothing to avoid being brought to account for their crimes. Violence and intimidation are a way of life for these people. We, that is, the Government and the Oireachtas, have a duty to make sure that the criminal justice system is equipped to prevent them undermining our core values. To that end, we must ensure that in the most serious of cases, where jury intimidation is a real possibility, the law has a means available to it to bring serious criminals to account.

In all the circumstances I consider it necessary to continue section 8 in operation for a further period. The period now proposed will run for 12 months beginning on 30 June 2015. I commend the motion to the House and ask for its support.