Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I extend my deepest sympathy and that of the Fianna Fáil group to the people of Iraq, whom I understand are holding three days of mourning for the 215 people tragically killed and the hundreds injured in the latest spate of suicide bombings during the holy month of Ramadan in the name of Islamic State.It is difficult to imagine the grief and the fear these families and communities are going through due to these cowardly and hateful acts.

Two weeks ago to the day, I raised in the House the shooting of a man on Monasterboice Road, Crumlin, which is in the very heart of my constituency. Today, I rise to my feet again with a sickening sense of déjàvu. Last Friday, David Douglas was shot on Bridgefoot Street in the south inner city. It is incredible to have three shootings a couple of weeks apart, two of them in my constituency of Dublin South Central, together with the tragic news that a man was critically injured this morning in Lusk. I cannot help but feel that if these shootings happened in the Taoiseach's or the Tánaiste's constituencies, there would be a much more robust reaction on the part of the Government to deal with these thugs who believe the only way to solve disputes is through the barrel of a gun. I extend my sympathies to the latest victims' families and the communities in which these shootings occurred.

The Government's performance on law and order is a matter of great concern to me. The Tánaiste recently allocated additional resources to help gardaí to tackle gangland activities and those resources were to go to a special armed response unit equipped to do so. The fact that more shootings and murders have taken place since the Tánaiste announced the resourcing is an indictment of her and her Department. How many more people need to die before the Government wakes up and realises that it is quickly loosing any semblance of being in control? How many murders must take place in the same blatant fashion as that which occurred last Friday and today's shooting - both in broad daylight - before serious questions are posed as to the Tánaiste's credibility in dealing with murderous gangs? Another deeply worrying twist in this worsening crisis was highlighted in newspaper reports yesterday to the effect that potential witnesses are being threatened in south inner city pubs and informed that they will get a bullet in the head if they testify in upcoming cases. This most recent development further highlights the challenges gardaí face in dealing with the criminals behind these threats. The Tánaiste must wake up and realise that action and resources are required as a matter of urgency. Failure to provide these will result in many more deaths. If the Government does not tackle the gangs head-on, it will only be a matter of time before - as happened in Limerick - innocent people who have no connection with the warring families or criminality will be caught in the crossfire.

Further issues which buttress the argument to preserve the Special Criminal Court include the difficulty the State has in getting people to serve as jurors where gun crimes of this nature come to trial. In 2003, it was not possible to find 12 people in Limerick to act as jurors in the trial of six people who were charged with the murder of gangland figure, Kieran Keane. Where 729 were called to jury duty, 12 could not be found. The Tánaiste must outline publicly how she will tackle these criminals. No further delays in the establishment of the armed response unit can be tolerated. The Tánaiste must also set out how she will protect witnesses from criminals if they are to testify. Finally, she must introduce minimum mandatory sentencing for anyone caught in possession of an illegal firearm. Any person caught with such a firearm should know that he or she will serve a minimum of ten years behind bars. A sentence of that length is entirely proportionate given the worsening crisis. We must demonstrate that we are willing to take a very hard stance on serious crimes of this nature. I propose that the Order of Business be amended and that the Tánaiste be called on to address the Seanad in order that she might outline the measures she is taking to stem the escalation in gun crime and cold-blooded murder in our cities.