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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 7 Nov 2007

Vol. 641 No. 1

Other Questions.

Garda Investigations.

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

44 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress to date with regard to the Garda investigation into the murder of two persons (details supplied) in Walkinstown on 5 October 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27369/07]

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the investigation into the murders referred to is ongoing. A dedicated investigation team of 40 officers is being assisted by specialist units from Garda national support services, including the national bureau of criminal investigation and the Garda technical bureau. The investigation includes taking statements from witnesses, viewing CCTV footage and visiting premises and establishing vehicle and foot checkpoints for the purpose of obtaining completed questionnaires. A number of lines of inquiry are being pursued to establish a possible motive for the murders.

I am further informed that Garda management is satisfied that sufficient resources are allocated to the investigation. As this is an ongoing Garda investigation it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this time.

I am sure all Members of the House will join me in calling on all members of the community to provide any information and support they are in a position to provide to the Garda Síochána to enable it to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice.

I do not want to probe the appalling crime too deeply either. Is any breakthrough anticipated by the Garda authorities in this regard? The figures we had earlier showed there has been a 50% increase in gun murders in the third quarter, which is an appalling level of carnage by a small number of gangsters running areas of our city. We have had 137 such gun murders since 1998, with only 20 convictions, which is less than 15%. Is that not an alarming level of detection and conviction? What legislative proposals does the Minister have in an attempt to combat this phenomenon? Was the Minister's answer in respect of surveillance and the use in evidence of information secured through surveillance given off the top of his head as he seemed to indicate on television the other night, or is it a considered proposal that the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission made in 1998 and as yet unimplemented will now be implemented? Why does the Department seem minded not to implement those recommendations over the years since 1998?

The Deputy has asked a number of questions. Of course it is a matter of concern that detection rates are not higher in crimes of the character to which he referred. However, it is the case and the Garda intelligence suggests that a number of those involved in the commission of these crimes have been apprehended, charged and convicted on other charges and are now in detention. If we are to discuss the phenomenon of gangland crime we need to face up to the fact that the basic need is to ensure that the membership of these gangs are put behind bars.

On surveillance, I indicated the other evening that the question had been put to me out of the blue but that I had on my own account asked the Department to examine the question some time previously. The Department is carrying out an examination of surveillance. However, the Law Reform Commission report to which the Deputy referred simply seeks to put on a statutory basis the investigative powers of the Garda Síochána regarding surveillance. The question of employing surveillance techniques against the gangland criminals is not restricted to the issue of simply having them put under surveillance. It is a matter of knowledge and notice in this House that such individuals are put under intensive surveillance by responsible Garda units. It is a matter of deciding whether the fruits of surveillance can be led in evidence and made admissible in evidence against these individuals. The practice in the State has always been that a great amount of surveillance material is not led in evidence in court. I have asked my Department to examine whether we should maintain the traditional arrangement where surveillance evidence is not generally led in court, for example evidence arising from a wiretap or from visual and auditory surveillance, or render such evidence admissible on a statutory foundation — in practice some of it is admissible already. That issue was not examined in the Law Reform Commission report.

In other jurisdictions such evidence can be led in court and is admissible. Given the gravity of the situation that confronts the law enforcement agencies, why should it not be made admissible in this jurisdiction?

It raises major operational questions because, of course, when such evidence and the method of obtaining it is disclosed in court the investigative authorities are exposed and the criminals are advised how they can be located and caught. A fine judgment needs to be made about the use of such evidence. It is not quite as straightforward a matter as it can be represented to be.

I am sure it is not straightforward and a judgment call would need to be made in certain cases. However, I am at somewhat at a loss to understand how it might alert the criminal as mentioned by the Minister. If these individuals are already under surveillance as he suggested and the Garda is gathering intelligence on them anyway as it ought to be, what more precisely does the Minister mean by saying that it would alert them? Surely they know that the purpose of the Garda is to put them behind bars. I can understand in a particular case why it might betray a wider operation to reveal in court evidence gathered as a result of an interceptor, bugging device or whatever. However, generally I am having some difficulty struggling with the concept of alerting criminals.

I am surprised that the Deputy has difficulty grappling with any concept. Of course the range and sophistication of equipment that can be used to exercise surveillance has been increased dramatically in recent years. A parallel inquiry into these matters is taking place in the United Kingdom at present where similar concerns have been raised that the disclosure of the techniques of surveillance would alert the criminal to the possibility of exposure.

For the third time I ask whether the Minister is ruling in or out the suggestion by the Taoiseach of the introduction of special criminal non-jury courts to deal with this issue.

I am glad the Deputy has had an opportunity to ask the question because I was not refusing to answer it. The constraints of time that the Ceann Comhairle must properly implement prevented me from dealing with the question. As it is, the Director of Public Prosecutions can have recourse and can determine that a prosecution should take place in the Special Criminal Court. The Taoiseach did not indicate there were legislative proposals relating to the Special Criminal Court. His comments were made prior to recent successes the Garda Síochána has had in this area. He indicated if gangland crime continues unabated and undetected, we would have to examine the question of the extended use of the Special Criminal Court. The Taoiseach was, therefore, postulating a future examination of this subject if current measures were found inadequate to deal with the persons concerned.

Joint Policing Committees.

Arthur Morgan

Question:

45 Deputy Arthur Morgan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason his Department and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government are only now, at the end of 2007, in discussion with local authority representative bodies regarding the disbursement of the funding to joint policing committees provided for 2007. [27398/07]

Joint policing committees provide a forum where a local authority and the senior Garda officers responsible for the policing of that local authority's area, with the participation of Oireachtas members and community interests, can consult, discuss and make recommendations on matters affecting the policing of the area. The establishment of these committees has great potential to ensure that policing is responsive to local needs. The committees are provided for by the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and operate under guidelines issued by me, after consultation with the Ministers for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. In view of the innovative nature of the committees and the number that will be established — there are 114 local authorities in the country — the committees are being piloted in 29 local authority areas for a limited period under initialguidelines.

I plan to provide for the establishment of a committee in each local authority area in the State as early as possible in 2008, following consultation with my ministerial colleagues. Before doing so, it would be useful to consider the experience gained in the operation of the 29 committees currently established. As part of this process, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and I have decided to hold a consultation seminar on 29 November. The purpose of the seminar, which we will attend, will be to consider the lessons from the operation of the pilot committees. The outcomes of the seminar will be used in the process of preparing the guidelines under which the committees will be rolled out to all local authority areas. It is planned to invite representatives of the participants in the committees, which will include members of the Garda Síochána, the relevant local authorities, the Oireachtas and representatives of the community and voluntary sector and the representative associations for local authority members and city and county managers. The committees, established last year and this year as part of the pilot phase, have focused on the issues that they consider have the highest priority for them and on finding the most suitable methods of working. They have made good progress and the discussion of their experience will contribute to the outcome of the consultation seminar.

My Department and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will provide financial assistance for the general support of the committees. It is envisaged that this will cover such areas as training and development, travel expenses for representatives on the committees of the community and voluntary sector and a contribution towards support for staffing for the committees in the larger local authority areas. Provision is made in the Garda Vote and by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for this assistance. While none of this funding has yet been drawn down by the committees, this has not restricted their operation.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

During the pilot phase, discussions between the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the office for local authority management have taken place on a number of matters relating to the operation of the committees, including the use of funding available. My Department is in close contact on a continuing basis with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government on all matters concerning the committees. A meeting will take place in the near future between the two Departments, the County and City Managers Association and the office for local authority management to discuss a range of issues relating to the committees, including utilisation of the funding available. If it is believed necessary, consideration will be given to retrospective support and I expect that any outstanding issues will be resolved, particularly in the roll-out of the committees.

In reply to a parliamentary question I tabled recently, the Minister indicated, as he confirmed in reply to this question, that none of the €500,000 allocation has been drawn down, which is strange considering JPCs have been in existence for more than a year. The Department is only getting around to resourcing the committees at this stage. Will the Minister encourage council officials and the chairpersons of the JPCs to deliver on one of the functions that has an implication for funding, which is to host public meetings concerning matters affecting the policing of local authority administrative areas? Does he agree holding such meetings would ensure the public is aware of the existence of the committees and it might also encourage Members to liaise with them?

My feedback is that attendance by Members and, in some areas, councillors at committee meetings is low because they believe the committees are nothing more than talking shops. The Minister may agree that unless the JPCs are resourced properly and can conduct all their functions, including holding public meetings, they are in danger of becoming nothing more than talking shops. Will he provide a special additional budget to guarantee these meetings, which are provided for in the terms of reference of such committees, take place so that the public can have maximum input and table questions? There is a future for JPCs and it is vital they are fully resourced to ensure policing becomes a matter at the lowest level.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by the Deputy. In replying to Deputy Rabbitte earlier about one of a number of cases he instanced of difficulties which vulnerable individuals in the Tallaght area have with anti-social behaviour targeted at them, I stated that the operation of these committees could be of great value in ensuring effective community policing on the ground to address such issues.

A meeting will take place in the near future between the two Departments, the County and City Managers Association and the office for local authority management to discuss a range of issues relating to the committees, including utilisation of the funding available. If necessary, consideration will be given to retrospective support. It is envisaged that the funding the two Departments is providing will be used to cover such areas as training and development, travel expenses for the representatives of the community and voluntary sector and a contribution towards the support of staffing of the committees in larger areas. The committees function as local authority committees and facilities such as location and secretarial facilities are provided by the relevant local authority, as are councillors' travel and subsistence expenses.

When does the Minister expect the scheme to be rolled out throughout the State, given the committees have been very successful in the pilot areas?

It is clear from my reply that the scheme will be rolled out next year. The harmonisation of Garda divisional boundaries is an important issue to be addressed, but it will not delay the roll-out.

Is the Minister amenable to tweaking the guidelines? I am a member of a joint policing committee and my experience is that it is entirely too clumsy. The committee comprises 23 public representatives and representatives of community organisations, which means that the last thing it has is a qualitative interchange with the senior gardaí present. With all due respect to the county managers and senior gardaí, their meeting is not likely to devise structures that will make the process more valuable in exercising civilian oversight of the quality of policing in local communities.

I am open to constructive suggestions on the guidelines. One of the first steps I took at my initial meeting with the Commissioner was to ask him to initiate a review of Garda boundaries to ensure individual policing areas correspond with the remit of the policing committees because that is a major difficulty in servicing the committees from the Garda's perspective and in the context of the structural character of the committees.

With regard to the recommendations that will be made by the committees, I hope they will not become talking shops. It is vital that recommendations which are passed through the chain of command do not end up like local authority strategic policy committees and become a justice version of an SPC that will be ignored.

What steps will the Minister take to address the lack of community and voluntary representation on some of the committees? Some community and voluntary representatives were appointed but their appointments have lapsed. It is difficult to keep people such as these in particular involved, which was one of the key features of these committees when they were set up.

Again, arrangements are in place, in the legislation and in the system, for community and voluntary representation. I understand some of the community pillars have continued to operate under the current system.

Prison Building Programme.

Jack Wall

Question:

46 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position in regard to the proposed Thornton Hall Prison plan; the latest estimate available to his Department of the expected cost, including the cost of the site, the provision of infrastructure and ancillary services and the cost of construction and fitting out of the prison; the implications for the overall timing of the prison project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27374/07]

Negotiations are under way with a preferred bidder, who was selected following an EU tender procedure, for the design, construction, finance and maintenance of the proposed prison facilities at Thornton Hall, north County Dublin. The project aims to replace the prison facilities currently located at the Mountjoy complex which, as is widely acknowledged, is in urgent need of replacement with a modern and operationally cost-effective prison facility that will provide a range of services and living conditions for offenders comparable with international best practice.

The new prison complex is being procured under a public private partnership model which will include the construction of the prison facilities with the ancillary infrastructure, including services etc. The relevant development consent procedure for the project is set out in Part 4 of the Prisons Act 2007. The Act provides for an environmental impact assessment and public consultation in respect of the proposed development. These procedures will afford all interested parties an opportunity to make their views known and have them considered prior to a decision on the development. Subject to satisfactory completion of the statutory phase and the successful conclusion of the contract negotiations it is expected that construction work will commence next spring.

It is not possible, for commercial and public procurement reasons, to provide details of the overall likely costs of the project. Indeed, the disclosure of such information is, in any event, specifically precluded under Department of Finance guidelines on public private partnership projects.

I can confirm that a total of €36,444,050 has been spent to date on the project. The cost of the site acquisition was €29,900,000. An additional 8.7 acres has been acquired to provide a dedicated access route to the main site. This was done following representations from the local community which reflected concern in relation to the effect of increased traffic generated by the prison project. The cost of this additional land was €1,305,000.

A total of €5,239,050 has been expended to date on preliminary site works, including surveys, landscaping, security and maintenance of the property, archaeological and topographical studies etc., and professional fees, including legal and specialist technical advice.

The Minister has drawn heavily on the word processor from the last day. This site, as we know, cost €30 million when the commercial valuation, locally, was in the order of €6 million. Does the Minister intend to put steps in place to surcharge his predecessor, or some of the senior civil servants who facilitated this folly by his predecessor? Do I take it from what he has just said that he intends to proceed with it? Can he give an explanation to the House for the fact that the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Trevor Sargent, is now in support of it?

Thanks to the word processor, I have the terms of the Minister's answer from 9 October. Matters have not changed much.

Quotations are not allowed at Question Time, as Deputy Rabbitte well knows.

The Ceann Comhairle is absolutely right. Will the Minister explain something to me, because I was trying to figure it out the last day? He said: "In addition to allaying these concerns the new roadway will provide significant additional benefits both during the construction and operational phases of the project." What does that mean?

The roadway will provide a dedicated access route to this particular prison complex from the old Ashbourne-Finglas road. That is the former main road that existed before the recent complex got under way.

Presumably there was always going to be access to this famous site.

There was access through the existing network of country roads which led to the complex, but the position was that extensive works would have been required on these roads that would have been more expensive than the option of a dedicated access road. The acquisition of the access road has been in ease of the project.

As regards the valuation which Deputy Rabbitte puts on the land——

No, commercial valuers locally.

That is all very much part of a dispute which has been discussed in this House before. The reality I am faced with as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is that the acquisition of this site was completed——

The Minister has reversed other bizarre decisions of his predecessor. Will he not reverse this one?

The site has been acquired and I certainly do not intend to throw away millions of euro in taxpayers' money which has been invested in what is a very fine site. It is a site which will provide a fine location for the establishment of this complex.

Some 8.7 extra acres have been purchased for little more than €1 million, in the region of €130,000 or €140,000 per acre. How many acres does the original site comprise? When one compares the figures for adjoining lands at €130,000 or €140,000 per acre to the original purchase price, something does not add up. One figure that jumps out is €5.25 million for professional fees, which seems outlandish, without a brick having been laid on the site.

As regards professional fees, I am sure the Accounting Officer can be questioned about these matters at the Committee of Public Accounts, as he was as regards the site acquisition, in respect of which he gave an extremely good account of the management of this issue by the Department. As regards consultants' fees and various other fees expended to date, this is a major project. It is the most substantial prison building project since the foundation of the State. It is a major development and we certainly need to get it right in terms of the construction and design of the complex, ensuring that best international practice applies. All these matters must be taken into account in developing a project of this type.

I have one final question. Is there an end figure for the site to include professional fees as well as site purchase and construction costs, or is it open-ended?

The cost of the road being put in to service this complex was never taken into account when the Minister's predecessor, former Deputy Michael McDowell, kept saying he had got value for money, despite the skulduggery involved in the purchase of the site and the fact that it rode roughshod over the local community. Has the local community been kept informed about the lie of this land and the acres bought to service the site and what additional services or facilities will be built there other than the prison, the court and possibly the central remedial facility which was——

There is to be an organic garden, with the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, tending to it.

He would love to do that, but what other services are being planned for this of which the community or this House have not yet been made aware?

I have the honour of representing this local community in Dáil Éireann and it gave me very substantial support notwithstanding the fact that I was the only candidate in the constituency who refused to oppose the project. On the question raised by the Deputy about what other projects will be located here, there will be a Garda station, as there is at every prison complex.

There is no Garda station at Cloverhill Prison.

There will be a Garda station at this prison complex as there was at Mountjoy. The question of a forensic science laboratory and the Garda Technical Bureau being located at a secure location of this type has also been considered. It is considered that the location in question would be suitable for such a facility. The present phase of the development relates exclusively to the development of the prison complex, which project is under way. The Deputy will have to table a question to the Minister for Health and Children about the development of the Central Mental Hospital.

On the figures and the question of the access road, it was my view and that of the Department that the dedicated access road represented a preferable arrangement at the site.

I have a brief supplementary question.

We have exceeded the time allowed.

It is a one-liner. On the question of the proposed transfer of the Garda Technical Bureau and the forensic science laboratory, the Minister stated the site was considered suitable. Does this mean the offices will be moving?

Given the time available, I would prefer if the Deputy tabled a separate question. The question of redeveloping the forensic science laboratory on the site of the Garda depot in the Phoenix Park was examined. However, because of the presence of the underground railway tunnel beneath the park and the depot, the site was found to be unsuitable. The opportunity was taken by the Government to agree the acquisition of the necessary lands at Thornton Hall as part of the access road arrangement that would facilitate the development of the forensic science laboratory.

Last year, when I asked specifically whether trains on the route would be endangered, the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, denied the underground railway was next to the facility.

I am happy to make myself accountable here.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh was not called at all.

Criminal Prosecutions.

Joan Burton

Question:

47 Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of cases of murder in which firearms were used in respect of each year from 1998 to date in 2007; the number of such cases in which prosecutions for murder were initiated; the number of such cases where convictions were secured; if he is satisfied with the level of detection and conviction in such cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27366/07]

The information requested by the Deputy concerning the numbers of cases of murder recorded in which firearms were used in each year from 1998 to date in 2007, prosecutions initiated and convictions secured is set out in the following table. Figures provided for 2007 are provisional, operational and liable to change.

The table shows that, in the relevant period, there were 142 murders in which a firearm was used, in respect of 39 of which proceedings were commenced. This gives an overall rate of 27%. Murders in which firearms are used are often, but not always, connected with gangland crime and are by their nature difficult to detect. All killings, regardless of the persons or circumstances involved, are the subject of a rigorous investigation by the Garda Síochána. The identification of the motive and the evidence available in its support are key elements of the investigation and prosecution process. On completion of such investigations, a file is forwarded to the law officers who direct what charges, if any, are to be preferred. It is then a matter for the courts to decide a person's guilt or innocence.

My highest priority is to bring gangland killings to an end and to bring those involved in gangland activities to justice. In recent days, we have witnessed a number of successful operations carried out by the Garda Síochána to deal with gangland crime. I am sure all Members of the House will join me in commending the Garda on these successes. Many have already done so. I cannot comment on the detail of what took place since the operations form part of criminal investigations and court proceedings, but I can say that this type of relentless activity by the Garda Síochána, under Operation Anvil in particular, will continue to be used to deal with these gangs.

Last week, I published the policing priorities I have determined for the Garda Síochána for 2008, as provided for in the Garda Síochána Act 2005. The first priority relates to targeting gun crime, organised crime and drug trafficking. The priorities refer in particular to the use of specialist units and targeted operations such as Operation Anvil; profiling, intelligence gathering and threat assessments of individuals and groups involved in this type of crime; and the pursuit by the Criminal Assets Bureau of the proceeds of crime, including through the presence of enhanced liaison arrangements between bureau and Garda divisions.

The Government and all Members of the House will support the Garda fully in its efforts. For our part, we are providing unprecedented resources not just to the Garda Síochána but to all the agencies involved in the criminal justice system.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

We have considerably strengthened the criminal law. For example, we have made it more difficult to obtain bail in drug trafficking and firearms cases. The Criminal Justice Act 2006 updated offences and penalties for firearms offences and introduced minimum mandatory sentences of between five and ten years therefor. We have extended the periods for which the Garda can question people suspected of involvement in serious crime and we have updated the law on the right to silence. However, in any criminal justice system it takes time for legislative changes to have full effect in practice. In the immediate period ahead, we need to support fully the operational measures being taken by the Garda to target all of those involved in these activities.

The number of murders recorded in which a firearm was used, proceedings commenced and convictions for the years 1998 to 2006 and in 2007 up to 1 November 2007.

Year

Recorded

Proceedings Commenced

Convictions

2007 (to 1 November)

17

1

0

2006

27

5

1

2005

21

2

2

2004

9

5

4

2003

20

4

2

2002

11

5

4

2001

9

2

2

2000

12

6

2

1999

12

7

5

1998

4

2

1

Figures provided for 2007 are provisional, operational and liable to change.

I join the Minister in congratulating the Garda on recent apparent successes, especially the Celbridge operation. This demonstrates the resources and degree of patience required for such operations.

Given the very low level of detection and conviction that the tabular response shows, are there plans to make internal changes within the Garda Síochána to target the gangster leaders? I am always interested to hear, within hours of a gun murder, one newspaper crime correspondent or another outlining on a radio programme details on those involved, including their seed, breed, generation and background, in addition to information we all should have known and the suspects' previous records. This implies that the information is well known to the Garda and that, in most cases, comes from it in the first instance. If the Garda has such information, is it not possible to reorganise the force such that there could be more interceptions like the one that took place in Celbridge?

I thank Deputy Rabbitte for wishing well the Garda. The Government conveyed such wishes to the force after its meeting yesterday. The Garda is as organised as the Deputy desires. Incredible patience is often required in operations that seek the conclusion we witnessed last week. While the Garda has a great deal of information and intelligence at its disposal, the question of how one assembles a case for presentation in court is an entirely different matter. The assembly of legally admissible evidence that will establish the guilt of an accused person beyond reasonable doubt is a considerably greater task than accessing information and intelligence. This is the challenge that faces the Garda in all investigations of this type.

The Garda has a policy of engaging in relentless confrontation with all those involved in gangland activity. In some jurisdictions, a decision is taken to simply target one group at the expense of another and to apply relentless pressure on it to the exclusion of all others. The Garda is satisfied it can maintain pressure on all the operations and organise specific, dedicated operations, when appropriate, to seek to apprehend those who are about to commit a particular offence.

There is not a citizen in the State who would not applaud the Garda. Deputy Charles Flanagan has done so on behalf of Fine Gael in respect of what happened in Kildare. Everything has a cause and effect and one of the effects of Operation Anvil is that some of these ne'er-do-wells are flying below the Garda radar and moving out of the city. They move out of the city for five or six days per week and reappear back for their social welfare payments. Operation Anvil is applying pressure in Dublin and therefore the individuals targeted just move somewhere else. This is a particular problem where residents are not living in their houses on a full-time basis and are living partly in holiday homes. I have referred to Courtown previously in this regard.

Some of the major players leave Dublin because the pressure is applied there but the minute they leave there is none on them. The gardaí in Courtown, which has 2,500 houses, are operating there on a part-time basis. The minute suspects cross the Dublin border into Wicklow, Meath, Kildare or Wexford, the authorities behind Operation Anvil need to chase them. The gardaí in each of the relevant divisions outside Dublin need to be informed.

The Minister referred previously to the Criminal Assets Bureau and local lieutenancies. It is essential that additional funding be put in place to ensure that local lieutenancies can be set up and funded correctly. There is no point in giving them names and the opportunity to do something without sufficient funding. They constitute what I have described previously as a reasonable version of the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Is the Minister concerned about an article written by Mick McCaffrey, a former confidante of the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, which was published in a newspaper last Sunday? This study found that only 5% of fatal shootings resulted in convictions. Is the Minister concerned about this finding? Is there a need for additional training for the Garda Síochána to ensure that when preparing cases, no technicalities exist in their preparation that would allow some of these criminal elements to escape conviction?

What measures will the Minister take to tackle that and the point raised by Deputy Rabbitte, namely, the fact that there seems to be a continuous leakage from the Garda Síochána to the newspapers of every detail of the individuals under investigation and the investigation itself? What steps will be taken to secure information within the Garda Síochána until successful convictions are achieved?

The question refers to firearms. We have had amnesties and initiatives, all of which have failed. Does the Minister agree that there have never been so many illegal guns in this country? Will he tell the House where these guns are coming from? Are they primarily brought in by east European gangs? There is a problem with stolen legally held firearms as thousands of them have been stolen in recent times. What about republican guns coming in from Northern Ireland which do not have the same use as they had before? What initiatives will the Minister undertake to take the guns out of society because we have never had such difficulty with firearms being used on a daily and regular basis?

In response to Deputy D'Arcy's question, Operation Anvil was extended to the entire country in 2006. However, I take his point that there is a particular need to keep an eye on the very large new suburbs that have developed in the Leinster area, cognate areas in Munster outside Cork and Limerick and in areas outside Galway. I certainly will bring this to the attention of the Garda authorities.

Operation Anvil does apply outside Dublin. One of the matters which has been progressed in recent months is the appointment of divisional profilers in each division to liaise with the Criminal Assets Bureau in respect of local intelligence about persons with unexplained assets in rural and provincial communities. That network of profilers has been established in recent months.

In respect the point raised by Deputy Ó Snodaigh about Garda information, we all know that a certain relationship exists between the news gatherer and the news provider in every walk of life. However, I can say that at Garda headquarters, a new head of communications in the form of a civilian post has been now established and appointed and I believe there will be considerable analysis of Garda communications in the month ahead.

In respect of Deputy Charles Flanagan's query about guns, this is a subject in itself. There is no doubt that the widespread use of guns in Ireland resulted from the outbreak of the Troubles in Northern Ireland from the 1960s onwards. Unfortunately, the ending of the Troubles has not seen the end of the proliferation of guns and their use in criminal activity. The reverse has happened and we have seen the habituation of their use in the criminal culture. As Deputy Charles Flanagan is aware, very strict legislation was enacted during his temporary absence from this House which provides for very severe penalties for possession and for the tightening up of the regime. An amnesty was also offered to those who would surrender such weapons.

Despite all these measures, a considerable problem with firearms remains. The information available to me is that, much like drugs, they are being smuggled into the country and that it is very difficult to put this down. The incidence of gun trades worldwide has increased with the fall of the Iron Curtain and the putting on the market of a very large number of weapons in many different jurisdictions. Weapons are being smuggled into Ireland. Indeed, one of the Garda Síochána's successes last weekend was the seizure of a substantial amount of such weapons at a location in County Kildare.

Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.

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