Speech
Minister Flanagan speaking on the renewal of the Offences against the State Act
By: Minister for Justice;
Published on
Last updated on
By: Minister for Justice;
Published on
Last updated on
Check against delivery
A Cheann Comhairle,
Let me refer briefly to the question of the Special Criminal Court as it touches on both motions.
While it is my strong view that jury trial is to be preserved to the greatest extent possible, we simply cannot ignore the threat posed to the normal operation of the criminal process, particularly by terrorists but also by organised criminals who have nothing but contempt for the rule of law.
The Special Criminal Court was established to respond to the threat to the State and its people from republican terrorism over the decades and it continues to be necessary to deal with the subversive threat from paramilitary groups. Indeed, this government put the second Special Criminal Court into operation as a necessary response to the volume of cases to be tried.
There are those who have argued that the Special Criminal Court is no longer needed, that its use is unjustified or even that it has been partisan.
I reject the utterly baseless assertion made in this House that the Court has operated with bias.
Let me say for the record that its judges have performed courageous public service in presiding, without fear or favour, over the prosecution of some of the most dangerous terrorists and ruthless criminals in the State.
Are we seriously to accept that the threat from republican paramilitary groups and the brutality of ruthless crime gangs does not need a particular response from the criminal justice system?
Are we simply to ignore these realities and not retain at our disposal the best means to support the Gardaí and the justice system in tackling these threats?
I cannot and will not accept that.
As I have outlined to the House, the 1998 Act remains an essential tool in tackling the activities of paramilitary groups on this island.
It is complementary to the general criminal law and while the provisions may be out of the ordinary course of the criminal law, they are not ‘emergency’ laws as some may have presented them.
Over the course of the State’s history, especially during the troubles on this island, these laws have served to protect and safeguard the State from determined efforts to undermine it and its democratic institutions.
It is surely beyond reasonable argument that a democratic state is entitled to and must take the measures it considers necessary to protect itself, to protect fundamental rights and freedoms and to allow civil society to flourish.
I make no apology for defending our laws and the measures we have in place to combat serious crime and terrorism – the people require us to do what we reasonably can to protect them.
Many Deputies will know from their own experiences as public representatives of the devastation that organised crime, the drugs trade in particular, can wreak in individual lives and communities.
However, we must continue to meet this challenge head-on by providing the necessary resources and legislative supports to combat those who seek to undermine the law and to damage lives and communities in doing so.
The renewal of this provision of the 2009 Act is a contribution to the overall framework of measures in seeking to tackle organised crime.
While we have a comprehensive criminal law regime to tackle serious crime we must constantly see where in the light of experience and changes in crime trends it might be improved. Our laws in this regard remain under constant review to ensure they are effective and proportionate.
An Garda Síochána has the full support of the government in tackling terrorism and serious crime.
We will provide whatever resources are required to keep our people and our communities safe. Some €1.65 billion has been allocated to the Garda Vote for 2018, an increase of approximately 2% over the allocation for 2017. The €1.61 billion that was allocated to the Garda Vote for 2017 was in itself an increase of approximately €60 million over the 2016 allocation.
Last November, I secured a supplementary estimate of some €42 million for Garda overtime bringing the spend for 2017 to over €130 million. This compares to a spend in previous years of €91 million in 2016, €56 million in 2015 and some €37.7 million in 2014.
With regard to Garda numbers, the government has put in place a plan for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021, comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Garda Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. We are making real and tangible progress on achieving this goal.
The Garda Authorities work very closely with their international in their efforts to tackle terrorism and organised crime. It is vital that we continue to enhance the ability of law enforcement and security authorities to make better use of EU information-sharing databases and resources.
Backed by an allocation of over €200 million for Garda ICT under the Capital Plan, a very significant programme of work is underway to improve connectivity with a number of the information-sharing databases in use throughout the EU. Connection to the Schengen Information System (SIS), Prüm co-operation, and Passenger Name Records (PNR) are all being progressed as priorities.
ENDS