No magic solution to end gang problem - Ahern

There is no magic solution which will end the problems associated with criminal gangs in Ireland, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern told the Dáil today.

Mr Ahern was speaking a day after the funeral of Shane Geoghegan who was killed in Limerick at the weekend.

Mr Geoghegan (28) was murdered on his way home from a friend’s house on Sunday. It is believed he was mistaken for the intended killer's target, who is understood to be a member of a rival gang.

The Dáil held a parliamentary debate this afternoon on Mr Geoghegan's murder. Party leaders delivered statements and Mr Ahern answered questions from the Opposition on the Government’s response to the problem of organised crime.

The Minister told the Dáil many lines of inquiry were being pursued in the investigation into the death of Shane Geoghegan. He said that whatever political differences divide the House, it was united in wishing to send a clear message to the perpetrators of the crime that no resources would be spared in hunting them down and bringing them to justice.

“The Government will rule nothing out which is reasonable and consistent with the rule of law in tackling these gangs head on,” said the Minister.

“But it does no service to anyone to pretend that there is some magic solution to this kind of problem which simply requires some action on the part of the Government. Were that to be the case we would have taken it long since - as would the administrations in many other countries whose problems with gangland crime are far more severe and longer lasting than ours,” he said.

Mr Ahern told the Dáil the number of murders involving a firearm last year fell to 18 from 27 in 2006 partly as a result of investigations into criminal gangs.

In the period up to November 2nd of this year, in the Dublin Metropolitan Region, the Garda's Operation Anvil had resulted in more than 120 arrests for murder; 1,192 firearms were seized, 59,235 drug searches were carried out and €31.6 million worth of property was recovered.

The Minister also highlighted investments made in equipment and technology and changes made to the criminal law. However, while he said that the Government would take any action necessary to tackle the problem of gangland crime, including use of further legislation “it would be a disservice to the people we represent to engage in legislative acts of delusion for the sake of being seen to do something.”

Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan described Mr Ahern’s decision to slash funding for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as “inexplicable” when no-one has been charged for any of the 16 murders related to gangland feuds since 2003.

Speaking during the Dáil debate today he also called on the DPP to have more cases heard before the Special Criminal Court.

“The bottom line is that there is something rotten in our criminal justice system and this rot needs to be stopped before more innocent people are murdered. Shane Geoghegan’s murder was an abomination,” said Mr Flanagan.

Labour Party justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte described the murder of Mr Geoghegan as “ an obscenity that cannot be tolerated in a civilised society.”

Mr Rabbitte called for the gardaí to be given additional powers of surveillance in order to tackle criminal gangs.

“The fact is that modern crime needs modern responses and the gardaí must be given the appropriate powers to enable them not just to detect crime and put those responsible behind bars but also – to the greatest extent possible – prevent crime from taking place,” said Mr Rabbitte.