Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire fásta. This is my first opportunity to engage with Deputy Humphreys in her role as Minister for Justice. I welcome her to the House. Today's debate provides us with an opportunity to assess the current state of the capacity of the Oireachtas, the judicial system and the policing system to deliver on the most fundamental objective of all three institutions, that is, the protection of the public in their homes, communities, places of work and businesses. The State has many responsibilities to the public that it serves but its principal, if not primary, objective is to be a guardian of the public's welfare and well-being.

On this primary objective of protecting the public, Sinn Féin is crystal clear that it must be protected with the full resources of the Oireachtas, An Garda Síochána and the Judiciary. These three agencies are interdependent, one on the other, in their responses to the challenges they face by organised criminals. Last year, Sinn Féin proposed an amendment which drew support from Fianna Fáil, the Labour Party, the Social Democrats and some Independents in the Dáil, calling for a review of the emergency powers contained in the Offences against the State Act, in keeping with the Government's Good Friday Agreement commitments. The Government agreed to do so and established a review panel earlier this year, as mentioned by a range of colleagues. Submissions to that panel must be made by 9 July and it is expected that the panel's findings will be brought forward later this year. This is an important advancement on the annual discretion that took place heretofore. Today's motion will pass through the Seanad unopposed by Sinn Féin because the party has an eye to the findings of the review panel due later this year.

All parties in the Seanad should turn their minds to the future and to bringing forward sensible proposals to ensure that society is fortified with a framework of effective laws passed by the Oireachtas and implemented by the police and the courts. I do not see how laws crafted in the 1940s can be fit for purpose today. The shocking cyberattack on the HSE last month is a very good example of the level of sophistication that today's criminal class is employing. We should all be seeking 21st century laws to tackle 21st century criminality. We want An Garda Síochána and the Judiciary to have the power to bring peace, security and certainty to the people. We want to see those involved with criminal gangs at all levels removed from the streets and put behind bars.

Sinn Féin's proposals provide peace, security and certainty for the State's institutions and the public at large. They will make it easier to use our law, police service and courts effectively to arrest and imprison criminals, provide more police on the beat and protect jurors and those giving evidence against wrongdoers. In the battle to overwhelm, isolate and imprison lawbreakers, as legislators we must ensure our legislation is stronger and our courts are more effective. Our courts system must be amended to protect jurors and witnesses and gardaí must be given the tools they need to do their job to the best of their ability.

Let us end, as others have said, the annual debate about the Offences against the State Act and replace it with a seamless and impenetrable system that has the citizen at its centre, surrounded and protected by the Oireachtas, the courts and the police.