Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

He is right about making assumptions when one reads something in the newspaper about people who are caught with class A drugs and sentenced. They are the victims, to a large extent. The dangerous people, who prey on and destroy the lives of vulnerable people, are further up the food chain. The kingpins and bosses live on yachts, often out of the country, totally removing themselves from any responsibility. I ask middle-class Irish people who use recreational drugs to think before they buy, because they are fuelling this type of menace in society. Just because someone takes cocaine at a party does not mean he or she is not doing anyone any harm. Besides the harm such people are doing to themselves, they are also harming society by fuelling and funding organised crime.

I recently engaged with the "Think Before You Buy Campaign", which I was introduced to through my colleague Councillor Ted Leddy. It is run by Safer Blanchardstown, which is a great organisation. I spoke at one of its events a few years ago as a substitute for the Minister, and was honoured to do so. The organisation has run advertisement campaigns to enlighten people as to the damage they are doing by purchasing recreational drugs. Such a campaign should be rolled out on a national basis. Safer Blanchardstown is arranging to meet the Garda Commissioner in the coming weeks. Perhaps when the Minister gets an opportunity, he might also sit down with the organisation to hear about the research and work it is doing, and what an awareness campaign can achieve.

Things have calmed down since Deputy Flanagan became the Minister for Justice and Equality. The new Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, Mr. Drew Harris, has hit the ground running over the past 12 months. He is a no-nonsense Commissioner, and is going about his business in a professional way. No one is protected. He is doing a straightforward and simple job, which is reorganising An Garda Síochána, bringing it into the 21st century, and implementing the recommendations of the report on the future of policing in Ireland that was launched a year or so ago. He is doing what Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, those on the other side, and all of us have been calling for for some time, which is making An Garda Síochána fit for purpose. We do not want a top-heavy management structure in An Garda Síochána. There are some regional concerns such as in my own area, where the divisional headquarters will be in Ennis, but that does not mean the people of Tipperary will be any less well served. We all want to see more boots on the ground, and more police and gardaí dealing with crime, as opposed to more superintendents and chief superintendents. The Commissioner might not get everything right, but he is making a fair stab at it. On each of the three occasions on which he has attended meetings of the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality there has been a full and frank engagement with members. He has been completely open on the manner in which he is going about his business. He is working to instil confidence among the public in An Garda Síochána by ensuring the force lives up to its responsibilities and that gardaí live up to the oath of office they took when they became members of that prestigious organisation. Unfortunately, there have been instances in the past where some gardaí did not serve the public in the manner in which they should have and were not fair minded in their dealings with people. We are now moving into a new era in policing. The 2018 behaviour and attitudes survey, a survey that is conducted annually, found that well in excess of 80% of the public had confidence in the force. That is almost a world best in citizens having confidence in their police force. This achievement is to be commended and the result of members of the Garda working hard in the communities in which they serve.

It is regrettable that the Garda College in Templemore was closed for a time, but difficult decisions had to be made. I welcome its reopening, with some 800 new recruits undergoing training there last year. These young and enthusiastic recruits reflect modern Ireland and will go on to give distinctive service in communities.

The Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, was set up by the then Minister for Justice, Nora Owen, in the wake of the murder of Veronica Guerin in 1996. It continues to enjoy particular success in fighting organised crime. Last year alone, it returned €5.4 million to the Exchequer via seizures of the proceeds of such crime. The return the previous year was more than €4 million, with €3.8 million recouped in 2016. Year on year, it is becoming more successful in its activities. That success is due in no small part to the law change we introduced last year to reduce the threshold of the assets value CAB could seize.

Since the shooting at the Regency Hotel in Dublin, we have seen a determined effort by An Garda Síochána to deal with organised crime in Dublin. The force has had enormous success in dismantling the Kinahan crime gang, with dozens of arrests. In Limerick, likewise, gardaí have been successful in destroying the crime gangs that blighted the city for years and gave it its reputation as "stab city". That label was totally unfair, given that the vast majority of people living there are decent, honest and hard-working. The small group of thugs who were holding the city to ransom are now mostly behind bars, leading to a significant reduction in crime and making Limerick a safe place in which to live. I agree with Senator Gallagher that when gardaí have the money and resources they need, their efforts in combating organised crime are working. Limerick is one example and we are seeing the same happen in Dublin. There are other pockets of organised criminal activity, Drogheda being a case in point. What is happening in counties Cavan and Monaghan recently is totally unacceptable and has been condemned by everybody. Resources must be provided to enable gardaí to dismantle such pockets of criminality.

The Government is committed to resourcing and modernising An Garda Síochána. In the course of his tenure the Minister for Justice and Equality has had significant success in that regard. In the process he has restored confidence within the Department in its stewardship on justice issues, something that was needed. He is implementing incrementally the reforms and recommendations set out in the various reports on the workings of the Department. That is not an easy job when one is dealing with a structure that has been in existence for many decades. It speaks volumes about the quiet, determined way in which the Minister, supported by the Government, is doing his job that An Garda Síochána, the Department and the Garda Commissioner are no longer in the headlines.

I welcome the motion as affording us an opportunity to discuss the issue of crime. We must all make a greater effort to achieve better outcomes. As good as the achievements of the Government are in this area, there is a great deal more that needs to and will be done. The issue of the threat posed by Brexit is for another day. I commend the Government amendment to the House.