David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for their welcome and their kind words, I hope it lasts. I am grateful to the Seanad for its consideration of these matters today. I thank Senators on all sides for their contributions to the debate on both motions. Naturally I welcome the support expressed by a number of speakers for continuing these provisions. I also appreciate the shared commitment that exists in the House to maintaining in place a robust legal framework for the Garda and the courts when dealing with the most serious of offences that may threaten the State and the operation of the criminal justice system. I also recognise there are genuinely expressed concerns about the robust nature of these provisions. However, we simply cannot ignore the fact of the activities of so-called dissident paramilitaries and neither can we ignore the fact of the grave threat from gang-related crime.

The ongoing action of the Garda in combatting the paramilitary groups including, fortunately, seizures of explosives and firearms, bears witness to the real and persistent threat presented by these groups to people in this State and in Northern Ireland. These terrorist groups have no support and no mandate. They cannot now and never will offer anything positive. We must do all we can, within the law, to stop them. By the same token, the Garda continues daily to take action against the criminal gangs whose activities seek to undermine society. The recent series of gang-related murders in the Dublin region bears witness to the ruthlessness and lawlessness of these criminals.

As public representatives we have all seen the profound damage that drugs in particular have inflicted on communities across the State. We cannot be blind to the fact that there are serious criminals who are only too happy to feed on that misery and misfortune and who will literally stop at nothing to protect their well-funded lifestyles. I take on board the comments made by Senators Dolan, Buttimer and others about the other side of the coin such as boosting communities, education, services, youth services, youth centres and so on which are vitally important also. However, we cannot ignore the fact that we are dealing with ruthless people.

In the face of these threats we must, as legislators, do our utmost to ensure the protection of the State and its institutions and to protect the lives of our citizens. In doing so we must strike a balance between necessity and proportionality. This is not always an easy balance to strike but I am of the clear view that this balance is achieved by these provisions. While they are outside the normal course of the criminal law, the measures are a response to extraordinary circumstances. I would also emphasise that these provisions do not somehow operate in glorious isolation from the rest of the criminal law and the range of protections that are available in the criminal process and at trial for persons who are charged with serious offences. We are fortunate to have a robustly independent and impartial Judiciary which has time and again proved to be the bulwark protecting the citizen's fundamental rights. I remind Senators also that provisions of the Offences against the State Acts and the Special Criminal Court have faced challenges to their operation and constitutionality on many occasions in the Supreme Court and at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and have largely withstood these challenges.

I remind the House also of the key role of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the process, a role carried out independently in accordance with the law. Some concerns were expressed as to the process for renewal of these provisions. It may be difficult to identify an ideal way to do this but I would emphasise that the current arrangements place the legislators in control. This House and the Dáil, together, have the final say. This is the democratic way and I believe it has much to recommend it. The Garda deploys very considerable operational resources to tackle terrorism and organised crime and we as legislators must provide it and the courts with the necessary means to bring terrorists and serious criminals to justice. I am sure that we all wish the circumstances where otherwise and that laws such as these were not needed. However, the stark reality is that until conditions allow, these provisions are a necessary addition to the general criminal law. I commend these motions to the House.