JOURNALISTS and civil liberties groups have warned the Government not to pass panic anti-crime measures in the wake of Veronica Guerin's murder.
The National Union of Journalists and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties have p55 grave concerns about proposals to introduce seven day detention, to restrict the right to silence and refuse bail. Both organisations say such "draconian measures" could lead to wrongful convictions.
The Irish Secretary of the NUJ, Mr Eoin Ronayne, said it was time that politicians listened to what Veronica Guerin said about tackling the drugs problem.
"She would not have supported a mad rush to change legislation", he said. "It is clear from interviews she gave that she believed the way to get to the untouchable criminals was by hitting their market, by tackling the socio economic problems that lead to drug abuse. She wanted a serious education package, particularly for kids in the inner city, that would highlight the dangers of drugs abuse.
While he welcomed the concern shown by politicians, Mr Ronayne expressed alarm that no one had spoken of the need to tackle the deprivation, unemployment or socio economic problems.
He urged the Government to proceed with caution and use current legislation to the full before introducing new measures.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has warned the Government that it is dangerous to adopt sweeping measures in the emotional atmosphere following a particularly appalling crime.
"The collapse of the Frederick Flannery murder trial with its appalling vista of non disclosure of vital statements should give us all pause", said the ICCL chairperson, Mr Michael Farrell.
"If that could happen under the existing law what is likely to happen under the draconian laws now being called for?" he asked.
"Seven day detention, restricting the right to silence and refusing bail would not have prevented Veronica Guerin's murder but they will certainly lead to injustice and wrongful convictions if adopted," Mr Farrell said.
"The British Prevention of Terrorism Act was passed in the "bake of the Birmingham bombings and a lot of innocent Irish people have suffered ever since as a result of that.
"There are no instant solutions to the problem of serious drug related crime. What is needed is vastly increased Garda resources to enforce the existing law coupled with measures like audio and video recordings of interviews to give everyone confidence that there will be no abuse of the law."