Only severe penalties can curb deadly trade

Next Tuesday, at the junction of Sean McDermott Street and Buckingham Street - just outside St Joseph's Mansions, itself ravaged by the heroin evil - for a second year, ICON (Inner City Organisations Network) and Dublin Corporation will erect a Christmas tree as a symbol of the people's struggle to reclaim the streets from the drug dealers. For years this junction had been the scene of open drug dealing, 24 hours a day, until the ICON-led campaign achieved a remarkable victory. Whether those gains will be short-lived or mark the beginning of a new era for this long-neglected community depends on a Government led by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who has been a local TD representing the area for more than 15 years.

Tackling the drugs issue will require a great deal more than the new Government's only initiative to date, the 1997 Criminal Justice Bill.

Nonetheless, the criticism levelled by the opposition parties against the 1997 Criminal Justice Bill is largely ill-judged. Many of the measures in the Bill are necessary and useful additions to the legislation introduced by the Rainbow government in the months following the murder of Veronica Guerin.

The much-hyped 10-year mandatory sentence can, in fact, be departed from in various circumstances, e.g. where the person pleads guilty, assists the investigation or is addicted to drugs.

This measure was the one specific commitment made by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, on many occasions when in opposition and was motivated by the incredibly short sentences awarded by the judiciary in many drug cases.

Successive governments repeatedly stated that the drugs threat was to have the highest priority and legislation was put through in the 1984 Misuse of Drugs Act allowing life sentences for drug trafficking. Yet, despite this, the average sentence was about two years. With no real deterrent and huge profits to be made, is it any wonder that drug dealing spiralled out of control?

My own strong view is that anyone who is not an addict and who is guilty of supplying heroin - regardless of the amount involved - should get a mandatory 10-year sentence. The heroin dealers who plague the north inner city, motivated solely by greed, would have been doing so for months and even years before they are eventually caught. The amount in their possession when apprehended is only a fraction of their deadly business.

The message must go out that if you traffic in heroin and get caught then you go down for a very long time. It is ironic that most sentences of more than seven years have involved cannabis even though it is, of course, heroin which is responsible for the appalling misery and deaths in disadvantaged communities and the often vicious crimes of desperate addicts. Sentences seem to be based largely on the value of the drug, regardless of it being heroin or cannabis and not on the level of damage caused by the supply of the particular drug.

The measures contained in the Bill to speed up court procedures have been called for by all sides for several years now, not least because of the enormous waste of Garda time spent in court. This will complement the Bail amendment (when it eventually comes into operation) which allows for preventive detention in the more serious cases.

Equally, the section enabling a court in drug trafficking cases to make a Confiscation Order on assets overcomes the delays involved in pursuing such orders via the Director of Public Prosecutions. This will significantly reinforce the various powers already available to the State to pursue the assets of drug dealers. One other measure, still outstanding but not requiring legislation, relates to Section 57 (Disclosure Provisions) of the 1994 Criminal Justice Act. This obliges financial institutions to report suspicious transactions. It must be extended to other categories, in particular solicitors, accountants and estate agents.

There is also the perception that the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) concentrates of necessity on the high-profile cases involving major figures in organised crime. This could be overcome by giving Garda Drug Units a wider role, including the targeting of the assets of local dealers. In this regard, the experience of the Store Street Garda Drug Unit could be utilised to produce a more comprehensive response to drug dealing and act as a prototype for other Garda districts.

The fact that the Bill does not discriminate between heroin and other drugs is, I believe, its major defect. The real drugs crisis in Ireland, the heroin crisis, is concentrated in our most deprived communities and is a manifestation of alienation and social exclusion. This Bill does not focus on the heroin crisis and in its present form, to some degree, contributes to the confused perception of the drugs problem.

Punitive legislation, though essential, will not by itself solve the problem and could well result in greater alienation in deprived communities. While other areas of Government strategy identify heroin as the priority drug, this Bill instead mirrors the public perception that all drugs are the same. It is this misconception, shared even by members of the judiciary, which has regularly resulted in heavier sentences for cannabis supply, than for heroin.

Despite the extensive additional powers available to the gardai since the murder of Veronica Guerin it is extraordinary that the Government-commissioned Strategic Management Initiative Review of the Garda is apparently requesting even greater powers, some of which, we are told, may breach the European Convention on Human Rights.

A far more pressing requirement in the disadvantaged communities where heroin is a major social issue is the establishment of new structures to provide a formal link between Garda and community leaders. A radical and more meaningful approach to "community policing" in these areas must involve Garda/community councils which give people a say in the way they are policed.

If this does not happen then the gulf that exists between many people and gardai in the poorer areas of Dublin will continue to widen and feed the drugs/crime problem. An enlightened initiative from the gardai in this area could prove of far greater benefit than the draconian powers sought in the SMI Review.

There is no doubt that a major overhaul of the Garda is required. A critical area in tackling the drugs problem must be in the prioritising of Garda resources. It is scandalous that after 15 years in one of the hardest hit areas in Dublin there are still only five members in the Garda Drug Unit covering the entire Ballyfermot-Clondalkin district, an area with a population in the region of 80,000 people. This starkly puts in context one of the findings of the SMI Review which refers to "the availability of an excessive number of gardai on duty at times of least activity".

At Government level, an integrated approach must be the overriding issue. More effective action in the criminal justice area must be matched by an all-out onslaught against social disadvantage. How committed this Government is to tackling drugs and crime will be evident in the budgetary proposals on December 3rd. If the benefits of that budget are directed at those most in need along with specific measures for the high risk areas of social exclusion, then there will be a real chance of success. If that is not the case, then no amount of new powers will succeed in redressing the crime problem and indeed could very likely exacerbate it.

Tony Gregory is an Independent TD for Dublin Central