merrion street

Deputy Michael Conaghan

I am grateful to the Deputy for raising this matter which is clearly one which is a source of great concern to all. I share the widespread outrage at the type of criminality to which the Deputy refers and I fully appreciate the concerns of communities who find this violence taking place on their local streets.

We have all been shocked by the callous murders and other serious crimes which have been carried out recently. The brutal nature of these crimes is a stark reminder to us of the mentality of those involved in organised criminality and the danger which they pose to our society.

I am in ongoing contact with the Garda Commissioner about all aspects of serious crime and the Gardaí will continue to bear down heavily on the activities of those involved in gangland crime. That is clear from the extent of the Garda operations launched against gangs as well as the many drug seizures that have taken place in recent months and weeks.

I should also mention the most recent recorded crime statistics, which were released last week, and which show that most categories of crime are in fact falling, which also reflects well on the work of An Garda Síochána. These figures showed that in the 12 month period to end-June murder had decreased by 8% and assault offences were down by 9.7%.

We shouldn't underestimate the difficulties the Gardaí face in trying to prevent gangland killings and related crimes and in bringing the perpetrators to justice. These crimes are carefully planned and are carried out by people who are very familiar with criminal and forensic investigation techniques. Moreover, even where members of gangs are clearly at risk not only will they generally not cooperate with Gardaí but, in fact, they will do everything they can to avoid Garda attention.

It is wrong to characterise this as a budgetary matter. There has been gangland violence for some time in Ireland, and the number of murders was in fact higher when Garda numbers were higher than they are now. It is also unrealistic to expect that the Commissioner would devote his entire resources, to individually protecting people who are routinely trying to avoid the Gardaí so that they can continue to engage in criminal activity. Such an approach could only come at the expense of ordinary Garda activity to protect the community generally.

In the end, the only effective way to combat organised crime is by disrupting and prosecuting those involved in its operations, and especially the drugs trade which is at the heart of much of its profits. Substantial efforts by An Garda Síochána and Customs are therefore devoted to damaging this lucrative business. Only last week Gardaí seized a major cache of drugs in Dublin, valued at €1.5m, and a number of persons are charged before the courts as a result.

I also share the general concern about the incidence of attacks and attempted attacks using pipe bombs. There are substantial Garda operations in place to tackle this problem with strategies very firmly focused on disrupting the use of pipe bombs and bringing those involved before the Courts. Indeed, Deputies will be aware of the significant Garda actions in Dublin City today in this regard. Furthermore, there are substantial penalties available to the courts following conviction for explosives-related offences, including a penalty of life imprisonment for causing an explosion likely to endanger life.

As Minister, I will continue, with the full support of the Government, to do everything in my power to assist the Gardaí in their work. There is already very strong anti-gangland legislation in place. I have made it clear to the Garda Commissioner that if he feels there are other measures which might be taken in this area I will look at that very positively. But it is misleading to suggest that there is some simple legislative solution which will prevent dangerous criminals from trying to kill each other. If that were the case it would have been enacted years ago.

Despite the difficulties which they encounter, I understand that the Gardaí have been able to bring people before the courts, particularly in relation to a number of high profile killings in the past couple of years, even though it will be some time before those cases are disposed of. As Deputies will be aware arrests have been made in relation to a number of the recent killings. The Garda Commissioner has my full support in continuing to confront this type of criminality and in bringing those involved to justice. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Commissioner and all in An Garda Síochána on their successes in tackling serious and all other forms of crime.