Madam, – The accusations levelled at Fine Gael on our approach to gang law (July 3rd) are untrue.
It is false to say that Fine Gael did not support the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill. On the contrary, my Party’s elected members voted in favour of the Bill.
However, I did raise legitimate concerns about introducing legislation that might later be deemed to be unconstitutional – or might be passed but not commenced due to constitutional concerns, as happened with sections of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.
More importantly, I emphasised that legislating without resourcing the Garda and the office of the DPP is a folly. I also questioned the skeletal resources allocated to Customs to prevent the drugs that fuel organised crime from coming into the State.
Those who believe that law alone is the answer are mistaken. Despite the way in which the concerns raised by myself and other deputies were twisted for political gain by Minister Ahern and others I will not be deflected in my view. Introducing new laws while cutting resources to the gardaí and the DPP and refusing to resource the Customs service adequately will not defeat the gangsters that wreak havoc in our communities. – Yours, etc,
CHARLIE FLANAGAN, TD,
Leinster House,
Kildare St,
Dublin 2
A chara, – I am very dismayed at the rushed introduction of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009.
Firstly, the extension of authority for the Special Criminal Court to deal with gang members may or may not be justified in the circumstances, but should only be undertaken with a broad base of support. Radical changes to our Criminal Justice system (ie trial by jury) cannot and must not be done on any basis other than near-consensus.
At the moment, the level of controversy around this issue does not come close to justifying a sudden move to a different model. In fact, one might almost believe that Minister Ahern (who I otherwise deem an excellent Minister) is embarking on a solo run on this issue in the face of a resisting opposition and relatively mute support from his colleagues on the Government benches.
He may be correct in pushing for this change, but he should not push these kind of powers (more typical of a war-time administration) through without the genuine consent of most of the nation. The use of the parliamentary guillotine on the debate is particularly inappropriate in this instance.
Secondly, while the extension of the Special Criminal Court’s reach might have something to commend it in the circumstances, the move to permit Garda opinions (of any rank) as evidence in a criminal case seems way off the mark.
The Morris tribunal has barely finished investigating the abuse of trust perpetrated by members of the Donegal division. Now, this Bill proposes to regularise “special” powers to give opinion as criminal evidence, replacing our familiar evidence-based criminal justice system with “J’accuse!”. With the greatest respect to our national force, these kinds of powers can only result in high-profile cases of abuse.
It remains possible to delay this Bill’s passage and to seek a broader support base for the changes contained therein, I still maintain hope that the Minister will see his way to this before week’s end. – Is mise,
TOMMY TIGHE,
Grove Park,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6
Madam, – Both Fine Gael and the Labour party were quite vocal in their criticism of the Criminal Justice Bill 2009 on Friday (July 3rf) but during that debate the opposition benches were practically empty.
TDs are elected to perform important constitutional tasks and when asked to debate a Bill that is constitutionally questionable, it is an absolute insult to the electorate and in clear violation of their mandate when TDs do no show up. Perhaps it’s time opposition TDs did their job rather than critcise the Government in how they do theirs. – Yours, etc,
SARAH CAREW,
Merton Drive,
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.
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