Legislation that will allow gardaí detain suspects in "tiger kidnappings" and other serious criminal matters for up to seven days will be in force by Easter, Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said today.
Publishing the Criminal Justice Bill, Mr McDowell said it was targeted at securing successful prosecutions in gang-related cases, followed by "severe but proportionate penalties". He was confident the main Opposition parties would co-operate in the passage of "this essential legislation".
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell
The Bill deals with detention, bail, sentencing and how the courts deal with the silence or non-co-operation of accused persons.
Some of the measures already publicised, including the provision for new mandatory minimum sentences in certain drugs cases, have proven controversial.
The decision to effectively force judges to impose 10-year prison sentences on major drug criminals was described by former High Court judge Feargus Flood this week as "an attack on the judiciary".
The Bill also made some changes to the right-to-silence rule in criminal cases, clarifying the circumstances where inferences may be drawn if an accused person fails to answer certain questions when questioned by gardaí.
It also allows for the indefinite retention of fingerprints, palm prints and photographs of suspects. Mr McDowell said this measure, together with similar arrangements to be introduced separately for DNA samples, will "ensure that the gardaí will have access to substantial intelligence data that will assist greatly in the investigation of crime".
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has criticised the plans.
Mark Kelly, ICCL director said "There is no evidence that any of these proposals will contribute to the fight against criminal gangs, as the Tánaiste has claimed."
"Recent events should have shown the folly of rushing criminal justice legislation through the Dáil, and the ICCL hopes that the adoption of these poorly-conceived measures will be postponed until their merits can be fully debated," he said.
Opposition parties have criticised the late publication of the legislation and the fact that the Dáil debate on the Bill will be guillotined after two days.
Mr McDowell said he "welcomes a constructive debate" and had arranged to have the Bill circulated informally to the Opposition spokespersons as soon as the text was available.
Jim O'Keeffe, Fine Gael
The Tánaiste acknowledged the concern expressed about rushed legislation but said that, in this case, many of the proposals in the Bill had been well aired and analysed in public debates in recent months.
He said he "remains satisfied that the measures are reasonable and that they are justified by the level of threat posed by organised crime". The Bill's main provisions are "very clearly focused on adding to the armoury of measures aimed at tackling gangland crime," he said.
"This legislation will make a very significant contribution to the fight against criminal gangs. It will complement the vast increase in resources provided in recent times to the gardaí, the prosecution services and the courts. Together, this legislation and those increased resources demonstrate the Government's unwavering commitment to defeating organised gangs," the Minister said.
Mr McDowell will introduce the Bill at Second Stage in the Dáil on March 22nd and said he looks forward to having it enacted and on the Statute Book by Easter.
Fine Gael Justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said his party would not hold up the passage of the legislation through the Dail but was determined to ensure it is "watertight and robust".
Mr O'Keeffe said it was a "sinister twist" that the latest gangland shooting in Dublin coincides with the publication of Mr McDowell's "last significant piece of legislation".
"The Minister's last-ditch attempt to rush the new Criminal Justice Bill 2007 through the Dáil before the election smacks of desperation, and he could be storing up problems for the future. The last Criminal Justice Bill was thrashed out over two years, but this latest Bill has been drafted in less than two months, and will be guillotined through the Oireachtas in a matter of weeks," Mr O'Keeffe said.
Labour Party justice spokesman Brendan Howlin said members of the Oireachtas had today "finally" received copies of the Bill, allowing just a week for an examination of "some of the most serious proposals ever to be put before the Dáil in terms of the criminal law".
"Given the seriousness of some of the provisions, it is essential that the Dáil be given adequate time for the detailed line by line consideration that it deserves," he said.