A NEW crackdown on the illegal drug trade will include mandatory 10-year sentences for serious drug dealers, and an automatic audit of their assets by a court, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform promised yesterday.
Addressing 78 new gardai who graduated at the Garda Training College in Templemore, Mr O'Donoghue said he was "determined the full weight of the criminal law will be brought to bear on those who deal in illicit drugs.
"I am determined that the Ireland of the late l990s will be a place where there is no safe place to manufacture drugs, no safe place to store drugs and no safe place to sell drugs.
The Minister later told journalists the Department of Justice was formulating a plan based on Fianna Fail's zero-tolerance crime policy to tackle the drugs situation.
He was anxious to introduce new legislation whereby those convicted of drug dealing and trafficking would be subjected to an automatic asset audit by the court and an unspecified fine imposed.
Mr O'Donoghue, speaking to the graduates, said the Government has a duty to ensure every weapon legitimately available to a democratic society be made available to the gardai as they tried to bring to justice those who purveyed and profited from illicit drugs.
"I am determined to fine-comb the criminal laws of this country so as to remove every obstacle which exists to the fast, efficient and fair administration of justice. To be effective, justice must be swift."
Revealing that he was going to up-date the Criminal Procedure Act 1967, the Minister said the laws which governed criminal procedures in this State were drafted to serve a community which had radically different needs from the community of today. The system of preliminary examination for indictable offences enshrined in the
Act served a useful purpose at the time of its enactment, but he believed the changing pattern of criminal activity has rendered that procedure obsolete.
He pointed out that in 1995 judges sitting in the Dublin Metropolitan District Court conducted preliminary examinations in 13 cases. Orders returning an accused person for trial were made in 666 of these cases and orders discharging the accused were made in seven cases.
"I do not believe that a system of preliminary examination which results in only I per cent of cases being dismissed is a system which serves the people well and I propose to tackle this as one of a number of priority proposals for legislation."
Mr O'Donoghue added that recent years and tragic developments had revealed the existence of well-organised and ruthless criminal gangs. They posed not only a threat to the life and property of members of this society, but also a test for the democratic institutions of this State.
The Garda Commissioner's medal was won by Garda Niall Murphy, from Rathcoole, Co Dublin, for achieving highest aggregate marks in academic studies. He will be stationed in Store Street, Dublin.
The Gary Sheehan Memorial Medal for best all-round student went to Garda Deirdre O'Dwyer, of Kilkenny city, who will be stationed in Waterford.
The Templemore UDC medal for outstanding achievement and appreciation in social science studies was presented to Garda John Mulvilhill, from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, who will be stationed at Fermoy, Co Cork.