I understand that the Government Chief Whip has a matter on which he wishes to advise the House.
Enniscorthy (Wexford) Bank Raid: Statements.
It has been agreed among the Whips that very brief statements, not exceeding five minutes in each case, shall be made now regarding the bank robbery in Enniscorthy, County Wexford yesterday.
In response to requests from the Opposition benches, I am making this brief statement to the House on the events which occurred in Enniscorthy yesterday, 1 May 1990. Deputies will be aware of the application of the sub-judice rule in this House, under which no statement or comment can be made here which might be prejudicial to any persons facing criminal charges or about to face criminal charges before the courts. Accordingly, I consider myself very constrained in what I can say here today, because, while the preferring of criminal charges is a matter outside my role, and entirely a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions, there must be a strong possibility, to say the least, of criminal charges being preferred arising out of yesterday's events.
A preliminary report has been received from the Garda authorities to the effect that a number of persons, at least some of whom were armed, entered the Allied Irish Bank in Enniscorthy shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday. A short time afterwards the bank alarm was activated and this was monitored in the local Garda station.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that four uniformed gardaí were deployed outside the bank where they came under fire. Fire was returned and one man was injured. He is currently in a serious condition in the intensive care unit in Beaumont Hospital.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Garda Commissioner and the members of the force concerned on the prompt and effective action taken in Enniscorthy yesterday. Because of the likelihood of criminal proceedings being taken, I consider that any further comment by me would be inappropriate.
Of course, as is usual, a chief superintendent and a superintendent from outside the area have been appointed to conduct an investigation into all aspects of yesterday's events.
On the wider issue of security policy generally, I want to inform the House that the Government remain committed to the policy of ensuring that the Garda have the necessary manpower, training, equipment and other resources to enable them to tackle and overcome all forms of criminality from whatever source, be it subversive or otherwise. The Government's resolve on this issue will not be diminished and armed confrontations with gardaí on our streets will only strengthen our resolution. Armed crime and lawlessness will not be tolerated and the Government will continue to take whatever steps may be necessary to deal with the problem.
I am delighted to have this opportunity, on behalf of the Fine Gael Party, to congratulate the Garda Síochána on the very successful operation they carried out in Enniscorthy. It is very clear that the response of the Garda Síochána to the raid was a highly professional one of which we can all be proud. The members involved showed great skill, sound judgment and exemplary bravery in confronting and apprehending the raiders. It is very appropriate that the congratulations of this House should be conveyed to the commissioner, Mr. Crowley, and that we ask him to convey to all concerned our congratulations.
When handing out kudos we should not forget the bank staff, in particular the resourceful member who got to and activated the alarm button which notified the Garda Síochána of the raid. When speaking about armed raids we sometimes forget the trauma experienced and the risks faced by bank staff and the staffs of other financial institutions.
In speaking about the raid in Enniscorthy it is also appropriate that we bear in mind the extent of criminal activity involving the use of firearms. The last crime report indicated that there were 672 cases of robbery and burglary in which firearms were used, an increase of 16 per cent on the previous year. None of us can be happy with this state of affairs and even if this means putting through the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Bill, we should take every step necessary to reduce those awful statistics. There is also a danger in modern society that we take too much for granted, such as the commitment and, very often, the bravery and heroism of the members of the Garda Síochána, mostly unarmed, who are in the front line in the fight against crime.
The latest crime report to which I referred earlier indicates that on average there was no more than one incident every day of the year involving assault, wounding or other acts endangering life and like offences, against members of the force. In all there were 429 such offences against gardaí on duty. This is an aspect of modern life with which we must all feel very uncomfortable and which we must bear in mind when it comes to passing legislation and taking any other steps to support the efforts of the gardaí in the fight against crime.
In relation to the raid in Enniscorthy, I hope the manner in which the raid was dealt with by the Garda Síochána will be a clear signal to the criminals of what they can expect in the future. The Minister has not made it clear whether there was any paramilitary involvement, but whether there was or was not, makes no difference; such acts are completely unacceptable to all civilized members of this community and there is absolutely no support for such criminal acts.
Let me make one further point, and this concerns our duty and commitment to the members of the Garda Síochána. They are entitled to the best of equipment, training and leadership in their efforts to combat the awful crime figures. The gardaí themselves, through their representative bodies, have requested an examination of their organisation. This is a longstanding request of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors and, indeed, the members of the Garda Representative Association at their conference which is being held in Killarney have requested that a commission of inquiry be established for that purpose. It is also appropriate that this House should support the Garda Síochána who want to be as efficient and effective as possible in the last decade of the century and into the next century. Therefore, I suggest the Garda request is a reasonable one and the response of the Minister for Justice, that that is a matter for the Garda themselves, is not a fair one. It is they who are making this request and, accordingly, it deserves our full support.
In conclusion, the morale of the Garda Síochána is sky high after this very successful operation in Enniscorthy. Let us build on this, encourge full support for the efforts of the Garda Síochána among the general public and take on board the reasonable request made by the Garda representative associations.
I now call on Deputy Kavanagh who will appreciate that the statement before the House is a rather unusual one. I am not too sure if we have a precedent for it. I hope Deputies will respect the spirit of the statement and not use it as an opportunity to extend far beyond what has been announced.
I am not sure your warning came a little late. I am grateful to the Minister for responding so speedily to Deputy Spring's request this morning for a statement on this matter. I would like to begin by adding my voice to those which have congratulated the Garda Síochána on their speedy and effective action in Enniscorthy yesterday. We are very fortunate to be served by a highly dedicated Garda force. Their bravery yesterday in a tense and difficult situation when it appeared they were outnumbered but still managed to arrest all suspects was a credit and a tribute to the force, in particular to the gardaí of the Wexford-Wicklow divisional area.
It appears from what we have read that the secret of success in yesterday's action was the speed with which the gardaí were able to respond. Perhaps it was also fortunate that the gardaí sent to the scene were properly equipped and trained in the use of firearms. Clearly there are lessons to be learned and applied from these factors and I trust the Minister for Justice will ensure that those lessons are correctly applied.
We all have a difficulty with what we might wish to say about this operation. Having regard to the fact that there undoubtedly will be prosecutions and trials, I would not wish anything I might say at this stage to prejudice the outcome of a fair trial for anybody, but it does appear from media reports that there was a paramilitary connection to the attempted robbery yesterday. If this is so, then there is even more reason to congratulate the gardaí involved. For too long the Provisional IRA have used terror, robbery, extortion and other methods of thuggery in the Republic to finance their evil deeds in Northern Ireland. If this is the case, in addition to yesterday's Garda operation foiling a bank robbery it resulted in a severe blow being dealt to the Provisional IRA's activities. We will all be considerably better off as a result. Lives may well have been saved in Northern Ireland as a result of the speed and effectiveness of the gardaí yesterday, and for this we are all in their debt.
I thank the Taoiseach for acceding to the request from Deputies on this side of the House and giving us the opportunity to comment on the excellent work of the Garda in Enniscorthy yesterday. As a Deputy who was critical of certain aspects of the Garda's operation in Athy last January, and who still believes certain questions remain to be answered about that affair, may I now offer my congratulations to the Garda on their handling of the bank robbery in Enniscorthy? I also wish to tender commendation to the staff and members of the public who helped and confronted the raiders in that operation. Indeed, it would seem that the Wicklow-Wexford division of the Garda Síochána have much to be proud of and happy about, particularly if we have regard to the fact that in recent times they were also responsible for detecting a large consignment of explosives close to Arklow.
It is regrettable, of course, that a raider was seriously wounded in yesterday's incident but it may be that the disciplined and decisive response of the Garda on this occasion prevented further casualties and even loss of life among innocent members of the public. We do not know for definite yet but some reports suggest that those involved were either members of or associated with the Provisional IRA. No doubt had the raid succeeded the money would have been used to buy more arms and explosives and cause yet more death, destruction and misery for the people of Northern Ireland. Against that background the decisive action of the Garda is particularly welcome.
We are all aware of the worrying increases in the use of firearms by armed gangs especially in recent years and the serious problems that this has created for the Garda. As we said at the time of the Athy affair. The Workers' Party support the right of the Garda to use reasonable force, including firearms, to deal with these armed gangs. It is significant that those who acted so effectively in Enniscorthy were ordinary uniformed gardaí to whom firearms had been issued. Indeed, their efficiency compares favourably with several operations carried out by what are supposed to be highly trained units within the force. There are lessons in this for the Garda and for politicians.
Finally, I would hope that despite the increase in armed crime we will continue with a generally unarmed Garda force to whose members firearms can be issued when necessary. I also hope that despite the pressure from the Garda associations the Government will proceed rapidly with the Bill to abolish the death penalty. There is no evidence here that the operation of the death penalty is a deterrent to attacks on the Garda as experience during the IRA campaign in the forties showed. My congratulations to the gardaí in Enniscorthy and to all gardaí who have toiled so long and so hard, often giving up their lives in the campaign against terrorism and armed thuggery in this country.