Before I call the Leader on the Order of Business, I wish to point out that No. 2, motion on establishment of committees of the 23rd Seanad, contains a number of printing errors. The most obvious is that, in respect of each of the Joint Committees on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Affairs, the number of Senators should be six, not four. A number of other errors and misspellings have been made. For the convenience of the House, I have circulated the correct text of the motion on a supplementary Order Paper.
Order of Business.
The Order of Business is Nos. 1, 2, 5, 15, 3 and 4. No. 1, motion on appointment of Members to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, and No. 2, motion on the establishment of the joint committees of the 23rd Seanad, will be taken without debate on the conclusion of the Order of Business. No. 5, statements on the Government's current suicide prevention strategy, will be taken on the conclusion of No. 2, to conclude not later than 5 p.m. if not previously concluded, and the Minister to be called on to respond not later than 4.55 p.m. No. 15, motion on lifelong learning, will be taken from 5 p.m. and conclude not later than 7 p.m. No. 3, Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2007 — Order for Second Stage and Second and Subsequent Stages, will be taken on the conclusion of No. 15, with the contributions of spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed five minutes each, and Senators may share time. No. 4, early signature motion on the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2007, will be taken without debate on the conclusion of No. 3.
I thank the Leader for arranging today's debate on mental health, which many Senators have sought. It is important that we hold this debate because, as Senator Harris has noted, it will provide us with an opportunity to influence attitudes on mental health.
I believe every Senator would wish to express abhorrence at the two murders which have taken place since this House last met. While every murder is dreadful, these were particularly cold-blooded and horrific displays of violence. In one of the cases, a young man was bludgeoned to death by a group of men. As he screamed for his life, he was told, "Now you know who is in charge here". That chilling comment was reported in our newspapers. Another young man was shot to death while he was sharing a taxi with three women and a driver in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Surprisingly, the Green Party was somewhat critical of my party when Senator Regan brought a Private Members' motion which highlighted the urgency of this issue last week. The response of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to the motion did not demonstrate the urgency required to address the types of gangland crime we are currently seeing. Fine Gael will not be found wanting in supporting the range of measures needed to deal with this issue. The Minister stated that he would raise the issue with the Garda as a priority, although he had not yet agreed priorities for 2008 when he came to the House.
It is clear that the issue of combating gangland crime needs to become a priority for the Garda in the coming year. I urge the Leader to request the Minister's return to the House so that he can indicate the priorities and extra resources he will dedicate to addressing this issue. These two horrific murders highlight the need for urgency in introducing new measures and resources.
I subscribe to the view that further debate is needed on this issue. As Senator Fitzgerald has noted, we have previously debated aspects of it but there is one aspect we have not addressed, which is that one of the killings occurred in the Border area. The business of laundering diesel and so on has become a major industry and turf wars take place there all the time. The Good Friday Agreement was supposed to bring about shadow legislation and the shadowing of decisions. I do not understand why taxation should not enter into this. We are in a position to address commercially some of the issues in the area. There should be more co-operation between North and South on issues such as excise on diesel to make activity such as diesel laundering a non-runner. We have little chance of controlling the flow of drugs into this country if people can bring in thousands of litres of diesel without detection. We need to discuss these issues further and the chilling comment repeated by Senator Fitzgerald is important. As in Limerick and other places, we now know that the gang bosses are in charge.
In this House we have often requested that the leader of Sinn Féin condemn such criminal acts in the Border area. If one positive development has emerged from this matter, it is that the leader of Sinn Féin has done so in this case and has asked any person with information to co-operate with the Garda and Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI. We waited a long time to hear such a statement and it is important we heard it.
We need to have an extended debate on the Border in the context of what is proposed for the coming years. In the past ten years I have inquired approximately ten times in this House about Ireland's relationship with the Schengen Agreement and the fact that we must produce passports when travelling throughout Europe. As things stand, it seems we will have to show our passports when crossing the Border into the North and when travelling around Europe and we will lose in both ways.
We should sign up to the Schengen Agreement, especially as the UK is beginning its new arrangement on passports. Through this system we could bring about free travel within this island under the auspices of the Good Friday Agreement. We are either part of Europe or we are not and it should not be beyond the ingenuity of man to find solutions to such matters. The idea is to allow free movement through borders.
I am also concerned at Prime Minister Brown's proposals on electronic border controls from 2009 because we have a land border with Northern Ireland that poses many problems in this regard. A person from Dundalk who needs to go to the UK seeking a new job as a football manager, for example, may find it easier to travel from the North than from the South. He or she could simply drive to Belfast International Airport and fly to Britain without the use of a passport. This clearly poses a problem for the British Government as it is not its intention to allow such anomalies to continue. I wish to impress upon the Leader of the House the need for the Taoiseach to talk to his counterparts in the UK to create an arrangement that will allow the system to work for all of us.
I was interested to note today that one of our leading think tanks, the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, predicts clouds on the horizon for the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen. Forecasts show that insufficient tax revenues will be raised in the coming year to cover promises made in recent months on health, crime and education. It appears the Minister will have to make some stark choices. He can renege on some promises, raise taxes or go cap in hand to the bank seeking extra cash, but none of these options will be easy for him as he has told us for years how well his Department is run.
Last week, mistakes made on the issue of Shannon Airport by the Department of Transport came to light and this week the Department of Finance's forecasts have been proven wrong. Ministers seem to just sail blithely on. I am concerned that the Government does not engage in any accountability. Will the Leader request that the Minister address this House on his intentions regarding the economy?
Regarding debates on serious crime, I have no difficulty in having the issue addressed regularly in this House. It is, however, incumbent on all involved in public life not to adopt a tone of moral superiority which suggests that, somehow, their response to law and order is better than anyone else's.
The Senator's party is in government and should know a lot about it. It was accused of pantomime politics last week.
That is where these issues must be addressed.
One would not find it on the Government side of the House.
Senator Boyle, without interruption.
I am sorry the reference to moral superiority has offended people.
Not here. The pantomime is on the Government side of the House.
Perhaps it is a back-handed compliment to say it is something we should all aspire to achieving.
We have not sold out on our principles to get into power.
Senator Boyle, without interruption.
The Senator will not lecture us now.
I did not refer to a particular Senator or party.
We heard enough lectures last week in the House.
I am sorry if someone has taken that implication from what I said, but we have heard likewise from the other side of the House as well. The problems are unchanged. There is no difficulty with having ongoing and regular debates if they are entered into in the right tone and with the common approach the issue needs, especially with regard to criminality in the Border region.
I want to raise the issue of the right of Irish citizens living abroad to vote in our elections. This weekend we saw the phenomenal sight of thousands of Polish people participating in a Polish general election. The circumstances in Poland may be different from those in Ireland in that the nature of Polish emigration could be temporary. Polish people who come to the UK and Ireland may want to return to Poland as soon as possible. Irish emigration may be more permanent and there might be a distortion in the figures in electing a Government as a result of the number of Irish citizens living abroad. However, we need to debate whether Irish citizens living abroad should be allowed vote for our Head of State or whether they should vote on issues related to the Constitution which affects all Irish citizens wherever they live. The Seanad would be a good Chamber for such a debate.
I have no difficulty with the call for a debate on the economy in the context of the budget. The projections made by the Fianna Fáil Party in the general election were matched exactly by Fine Gael and the Labour Party.
Has the programme for Government changed again?
Senators must speak through the Chair.
The Green Party was the political party that made the most prudent and modest economic projections in the general election.
That is another flip flop from the Green Party.
I did not expect to speak so soon after Senator Boyle's speech. I call for a debate in the House on the report of the constituency commission. I understand the Minister has said he will allow debate on the legislative stage in both Houses, but it is time for the House to debate the issue in a measured manner. One must question, for example, the manner in which Limerick county and city have been torn to shreds by the boundary commission. I noted that there were more than 300 submissions on the website yesterday, most of which referred specifically to County Leitrim. Nothing has yet been done to restore Leitrim to its previous glory in electoral terms. The report is important and the constituency commission carries out an important function, but its work should be debated in the House. I accept the argument that we must keep politicians away from such a politically sensitive issue, but we need to examine the role the commission plays in carving up our constituencies. The Leader fell victim to one of the reports of the commission previously, and I know he would agree to a broad debate on the issue.
I read with dismay this morning that due to Health Service Executive, HSE, cutbacks, some people who suffer from multiple sclerosis, MS, are being denied home care packages. This is as a result of budget restrictions. The HSE has refused to accept this is the case, but people in the MS society have told us it is. It is alarming that people with such a debilitating and serious illness are being denied home care packages. Will the Leader arrange for a debate to establish whether this is the case? If it is, will the HSE stop delivering a spin on it?
I wish to raise the issue of the ESRI report relating to examinations and the experience of junior certificate students. This recent publication explored the experience of junior certificate students and highlighted what schools can do to enhance student learning and engagement with schools. Would it be appropriate to ask the Minister for Education and Science to attend the House to debate this? It is important to examine the ideas contained in a survey of 900 students, although it should have been broader. Issues highlighted include the dominance of the State examinations, the streaming of students, interaction between teachers and students, and whether we should have a vocational and academic, as opposed to a vocational or academic, approach to education. Those are interesting topics and they are linked to the Private Members' business motion this evening which deals with lifelong learning. The earlier we start, the more success we will achieve. This survey is timely and would result in an interesting debate.
I want to follow up on what Senator Fitzgerald said about last week's debate on gangland crime. As Senator Fitzgerald said, the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, displayed no sense of urgency about this problem. He did not suggest any new legislation or the provision of additional resources, and there was nothing from him regarding a change in policing methods. He described the motion as tendentious and opportunistic, yet in the Dáil debate this week the Taoiseach proposed making greater use of the Special Criminal Court.
In the absence of any clarity or precision on any such proposal by the Minister a week earlier, is there any substance to the Taoiseach's suggestion or is it merely words to suggest we are doing something about the situation? He said that if criminal gangs continue to operate and do the things they are doing, we will have to do something about it. That does not appear to constitute a policy or new innovation. It is easy to criticise the courts for not convicting people but the reality is that the detection rates for these types of crimes have plummeted. These gangs believe they cannot be caught. It is a question of the detection and prosecution of people for these crimes. It is very easy for the Government to criticise the courts and suggest that they are failing in this matter.
I support Senator O'Toole's comments about the Schengen Agreement. I do not wish to revisit the matter but when we discussed the opt-out on criminal law in the European Union one of the issues was that we had to protect the common travel area. One week later, we now know that it will be discontinued in two years' time. It is important to have a debate on the Schengen Agreement and on these opt-outs to see where we are going and identify Government policy on the matter.
As this is my first time to speak on the Order of Business I want to congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his appointment and wish him every success in the Chair.
I concur with the comments of Senator Fitzgerald and abhor the killings that occurred since we spoke here last week. As spokesman on justice in this House for the third time, I will not have any difficulty if the Government decides to invoke the Special Criminal Court to deal with these serious crimes. I am aware there is a reluctance in that regard on the part of certain civil liberties groups and I would be slow to go down that road. However, because of the escalation in the level of violence I ask the Leader to convey my concerns that if these gangland, drug-related mercenary assassinations by people who are paid to carry out these crimes continue week in, week out we may have to invoke the Special Criminal Court.
We are approaching the winter season. The clocks go back one hour next weekend and we will experience long nights. I raised this issue many years ago, which concerns the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and I ask the Leader to examine it. I would like the wearing of reflective vests or armbands to be made compulsory for pedestrians, particularly young children and the elderly. In a recent incident in east Cork two people going to mass early in the morning were knocked down. Unfortunately, one of them died. As someone who has one of the longest journeys to make to and from the Oireachtas, I dread meeting people clad in dark clothing on winter mornings, including children alighting from buses in the darkness. Although every attempt may be made to avoid such accidents, the driver is not always at fault. It would not cost much to issue up to 50,000 reflective armbands to schools and pensioners, but it might save lives. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on this matter, which is appropriate given the approach of winter.
The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism should attend the House to discuss tourism policy. We underestimate the value of tourism as a driver of economic growth and I have a number of concerns which need to be addressed in this regard. In particular, a recent analysis has shown that in the first six months of this year the number of visitors from Britain dropped. This is an important statistic as Britain is our most important market. The issue will become more important considering the fiasco in Shannon and the high yield tourism and commercial business which it handles. Business tourism will now be detrimentally affected, particularly as we no longer have a manager in Shannon Airport to help alleviate these problems.
We must also see how the Government can work with agencies in facilitating more visitors to come to the regions. This concerns the role of Dublin Tourism working more closely with other agencies in order to achieve such an outcome. This perennial issue must be addressed. While Dublin Tourism is doing a fine job, its work should be extended in order to disseminate visitors outside the capital.
My other concern relates to driving tourism growth in the regions, which do not have the same international visitor experience. The domestic market has performed excellently for the past ten years, but it must be reaching a peak. Therefore we should examine strategies for extending visitor stays in addition to creating extra ones.
We should examine the possibility of overturning the decision to deregulate the self-catering sector. Like all other sectors, it was approved for a number of years but its deregulation will have a detrimental effect in rural areas where the majority of accommodation is self-catering. Henceforth, the sector will no longer be marketed in the same way as other models of accommodation. The bed and breakfast sector has experienced problems in recent years together with a lack of investment in e-marketing by agencies. In addition, there are inefficiencies due to the number of agencies operating in the sector. We should have a debate on tourism strategies to ensure the future of the sector.
I wish to confine my comments to the crime problem. While I welcome Gerry Adams's statement concerning the atrocious beating on the Border, nevertheless there is a clear link between the paramilitary tradition and the current state of gangland crime. The culture of paramilitaries and the use of lethal force, including executions, are tied in and synthesised with the drug culture. Therefore, Mr. Adams cannot abscond from all responsibility in this respect. The good news, however, is that the link between paramilitarism and crime offers us the solution. The Taoiseach began the debate the other day when he said he was thinking about using the Special Criminal Court. He was right to say no more. Surprisingly, I am not in favour of a knee-jerk reaction. I am sorry if this matter is going to be politicised because I wish it would not be. I commend Eamon Gilmore's idea that membership of a gang or association with a gang should be a crime. Eamon Gilmore is from a strong left-wing tradition in Europe. The Communist Party supported the special investigating magistrates which smashed the Mafia. The pity is that too often the left wing is ready to talk about the dangers to civil liberties rather than joining the general community in solving the crime problem first. When that is done I will listen to the civil liberties case.
The Taoiseach was right at the weekend to be censorious of civil liberties. We have a problem. Fine Gael has made some good suggestions in respect of 24 hour surveillance. The Labour Party has also made good suggestions. Fianna Fáil should not be so defensive of its Minister. We need to work together to deal with this problem. There is gangland crime in Dublin, Limerick and on the Border, and an impending problem caused by foreign gangs trafficking and committing crime here.
We need to use the Offences Against the State Act provisions which have been on the Statute Book since our war on terrorism and give the Special Criminal Court a new category of investigating or prosecuting judges. Instead of a garda relaying witnesses whom he or she believes but who do not want to go into the witness protection programme a judge would do so. An experienced judge protected by the law would say that he or she was satisfied with the witnesses' bona fides and direct that suspects be interned or locked up for 30 days. That is necessary to disrupt gangland crime in Dublin and to lift young men out of their communities in Limerick for their own sake. There is no point telling a 20 year old who is involved in a vendetta that he will go to prison. Men of that age do not care.
Kierkegaard said that most of the trouble in the world is caused by men under the age of 25. It is not possible to talk to a tearaway at that age. He needs to be lifted out of his community for his own sake. The political resonances of this are important. The Irish State, under Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and coalition Governments, lifted hundreds of Republicans between the 1950s and the 1970s. Proinsias De Rossa has said that he benefited by that action. It is sometimes necessary to allow people to cool off for their own sake. It is no harm going into a good progressive prison for 30 days if one is involved in a Limerick vendetta.
Instead of giving a knee-jerk reaction we should stand back coolly from the British common law system which waits for a crime to be committed and then act. The Garda Síochána is adequately resourced. One can make political capital if one wishes to do so by putting more community gardaí on the beat but that will not deal with organised crime. A proactive policy of setting out to smash the crime gangs is needed, rather than waiting for them to commit offences. This requires four or five investigating magistrates, one apiece for the Border, Limerick, Dublin and foreign crime gangs, integrated into the Special Criminal Court. These prosecuting judges should be charged with special powers to subpoena witnesses to break the crime gangs.
The debate will be held if the Leader agrees. I remind all Members that when referring to Members of this or the other House they should use the title, Deputy or Senator.