When I spoke last week on this Bill I referred to the lack of involvement of the Garda in the community. The policy a number of years ago of replacing the garda on the beat was a major error. While at that time it might have appeared to be the correct course of action, unfortunately time has proved it was not the correct action to take. We all know that the Garda need squad cars and all the sophisticated equipment they can get to help to combat crime. However, with the removal of the garda from the beat a great sense of communication was lost with the community where the garda carries out his duties. This area must be looked at in the very near future to see what role the Garda have to play in the community.
I am in favour of giving the Garda more powers to carry out their job in an effective way on behalf of the community. However, I believe that goodwill must be created and there must be a new approach by the garda in relation to his role in the community. The Minister should take a serious look at this to see if we can come back to the situation where the garda can get involved with community associations, youth clubs and all the relevant areas in the community who are very happy to work with the Garda. I know there is a percentage of people who have no time for the Garda but the vast majority are quite willing to have the Garda integrate in the community, to everybody's benefit. I will elaborate on this on Committee Stage.
We are all anxious to tackle crime in a forceful and determined way. A criminal should realise that this is the purpose of this Bill. The Bill must be seen to be working effectively. It is right that a Bill such as this should be looked at in relation to every aspect of crime so that people will come to realise that the accusations made against the Bill of creating a police state are not true. I do not accept that. The people are entitled to protection, but as of now they are not getting that. Some of the comments regarding the Bill are most unfair. It must be clear to any fair-minded person that the present situation cannot be allowed continue. The legislators have a duty to protect the law-abiding citizens, but that is not happening at the moment.
The people who go about their business in an orderly fashion, behave themselves and obey the law are entitled to the protection of the law. It must also be seen that the people who do not obey our laws suffer the consequences. If you obey the law you have not anything to fear, but if you do not obey it is your own lookout.
I would like to see the people who are so concerned about the rights of criminals expressing the same concern about the rights of the victims. There is only a passing reference to the victims of crime. I have met many people who have been assaulted, mugged, robbed and terrorised by the criminals in our society. The reasons people commit crime are continually referred to. The armchair experts, who have all the answers but who are not making decisions, tell us that unemployment and housing are contributory factors to the increase in crime. We all accept that and that we have a lot of work to do in the creation of employment, better housing and a better society for our people to live in. But I do not accept that bad housing and unemployment give a person the right to go out and intimidate neighbours and the community.
I have not heard the media referred to so far in this debate. I believe the effects of the media, especially of television and particularly on our young people, cannot be overemphasised. We see a lot of unnecessary violence on television. Crime and gangsterism are glorified on our television screens. We might have to take a look at the control we have in relation to what is portrayed on our TV screens. The people in the media are very vocal in criticising our institutions when we are tackling difficult problems, but those people do not use the avenues open to them to get the good message across. We are always being told about the bad things of life. I believe there is an obligation on the media to highlight the good things. Recognition should be taken of the marvellous work carried on by community associations, youth clubs, youth groups and all the voluntary people who are working so hard to make society a better place for everybody to live in.
The age of the video is here now and there is no control whatsoever in relation to it. Videos should come under the censorship laws. The Minister should take a look at this. It is very clearly seen in the courts that some of the very serious crimes committed are carbon copies of what the criminals have seen on television. The people who are most vocal about what is happening in society have a responsibility to play their part in this matter.
Many of our old values are being attacked. We are told they are out of date and should be done away with. We are told that it is a free society and what people think is good for them is all right. This is a myth and must be rejected. The legislators are here to protect the people and bring in laws on behalf of the people.
There is also a problem in relation to the crime committed while people are on bail. This is a very serious problem. Criminals know well that their cases might not come before the courts for a long time and they continue to commit crime because they know that when they are brought to court all the crimes they have committed will be lumped together, they will get concurrent sentences and will be sent away for the same length of time whether it is one or 30 crimes they have committed. We must look at this. There is nothing worse than people being brought into court, given bail, breaking it and getting off scot free. The attitude of criminals today is to commit as many crimes as they can while they are out on bail because they will get the same sentence in the end. The Minister should look at this area. Abolition of bail does not constitute an answer. That is the right of everybody; one is innocent until proved guilty. I am not suggesting for a moment, therefore, that bail should be abolished but certainly its conditions must be tightened up so that offenders will know they cannot continue to break the law while on bail.
One of the biggest problems encountered is the delay in bringing cases before the courts. The present administration of the District and Circuit Courts is most unsatisfactory and the long delay occasioned in having cases heard does not improve the overall situation. Indeed, even giving the Garda additional powers will not improve the situation because there is no point on the one hand in shortening the list and on the other lengthening it.
It can take up to two years at present to have cases heard in the Cork Criminal Court, leading to a most unsatisfactory situation. In the Cork area the number of sittings is 36 in four eight-day sessions in the year. The session which commenced on 8 November has just finished with almost 100 cases still awaiting hearing. Yet that court will not sit until February with another three months of accumulated cases over that period to be heard. I am convinced there is need for a second Circuit Criminal Court judge in the Cork area and also in the District Court because cases awaiting appeal in the Circuit Court are mounting. There is no point in giving the Garda additional powers if all the other aspects do not fall into line. The Minister might let us know what plans he has in mind in order to deal with that situation. Some months ago a district justice in Cork asked if there were any gardaí on the streets of Cork. This question was prompted by the fact that there were so many gardaí in the courtroom and its environs. Everybody assembles at 10.30 in the morning and people cannot get in and out of the building. Surely in this day and age some other system could be devised to ensure that the gardaí are on our streets carrying out the duties assigned to them.
We, the public and all other interested people, must be satisfied that the provisions of this Bill will be in the interests of all concerned and of the community at large. The attempt being made here is to correct injustices perpetrated for far too long to law-abiding citizens. On Committee Stage I will be asking the Minister to accept amendments on the different sections and subsections. It should not be open to a member of the Garda to interpret the law as he or she thinks; it should be very clearly defined for them. There has been a lot of criticism of certain sections of this Bill. I hope it will be very clearly spelled out where the Garda stand in the implementation of its provisions. They should be clear in their minds, without any fear of accusation from anybody, that they are correctly interpreting its provisions. That is our responsibility as legislators. Therefore, on Committee Stage, I hope we can tease out those sections and subsections at present causing public concern.
There has been concern expressed about its provisions by many genuine and sincere people and I believe the Minister is anxious to accommodate their concerns. However, there are certain sections and subsections not sufficiently defined and which may leave the Garda open to accusations. There are people who would be only too glad of an opportunity to attack the Establishment and highlight the deficiencies of legislation. It would be helpful if such people were fairminded and highlighted the difficulties on the other side of the coin, being mindful of all the difficulties involved in this whole process.
There is an obligation on all Members of this House to tease out those problems causing public concern. Indeed, I think the Minister would agree that there are certain aspects warranting amendment. I am in full agreement with the complaints procedure, another matter causing much public concern. We do not know where we stand with regard to the complaints procedure. We do not know what is involved here. We do not know when it is intended to bring the complaints procedure Bill before the House. Will this be dealt with on Committee Stage of this Bill? If all of these aspects were cleared up it would be of great help to everybody concerned. We should all be very clear as to what exactly is involved. There is no point in passing legislation if the complaints procedure proves unacceptable afterwards because that would hold up the whole process.
We have far too many criminals, particularly young ones, some of whose behaviour is often so bad it could not even be encompassed in the term "delinquency". Some of this type of crime is often downright psychopathic and must be put to an end by the Garda. In so doing, they must be given every encouragement and have a back-up system. Here I refer specifically to our courts because there is no point in giving the Garda additional powers while the courts continue to fall down on their job.
Some recent court decisions of the Judiciary have caused grave concern amongst members of the community, particularly in regard to inconsistencies. These are people for whom we have all had the highest esteem for such a long time. However, some of their recent decisions have been called into question. It must be remembered that they carry a very grave responsibility on behalf of us all.