I am responding to this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern.
The debate in this House on the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 was useful and informed. It is even more of a shame, therefore, against the background of the grave threat posed by criminal gangs to our communities and the death and destruction they have wreaked, that Senator Regan should respond simply by seeking to cause mischief. That does little service either to this House or the victims of these gangs. In taking this approach the Senator echoes points made by Deputy Rabbitte in the other House earlier this week. Such a display of political unity would be a little more impressive were it not for the fact that Fine Gael and the Labour Party took diametrically opposed positions on the Bill, differing completely in their approaches to one of the gravest situations facing the country.
The case for the early enactment of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill was compelling. Had the Garda Síochána sufficient evidence in recent months to charge someone with offences created under the Act and had we failed to bring the legislation into force on time, we would have been guilty of a gross dereliction of duty. Senator Regan's basic proposition seems to be that because nobody has yet been charged under the provisions of the legislation, it would not matter if it had not yet been enacted, thus allowing the debate on its provisions to continue in this House. Even by the Senator's standards, that is an extraordinary assertion.
The legislation in question was signed into law on 23 July and it would be completely unrealistic to expect arrests and convictions to have been secured under it at this stage. It was precisely because there was an inevitable time lag between legislation coming into force and its yielding results that it was so important to have the legislation, together with that relating to surveillance, enacted before the summer recess. If that had not been done, the Garda would have been deprived in recent months of the opportunity to take action designed to lead to convictions under both items of legislation.
The Garda cannot act on the basis of what legislation may eventually emerge from the Oireachtas. It can only proceed to prepare cases on the basis of enacted legislation. Those cases must be prepared painstakingly in order that they will stand up in court. Senator Regan is better acquainted than most in this House with the requirements of our legal system. That he should seek to hide that knowledge in an effort to score cheap and baseless points on a very serious subject is a matter for him. However, he must know that his basic proposition which amounts to saying that when one finishes a project has nothing to do with when one starts it is nonsense. He knows well too that it is a fundamental principle that criminal legislation cannot be retrospective. As such, the idea that it does not matter when legislation is enacted is absurd.
In an attempt to ground this discussion in reality I am pleased to inform the House that against the background of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act and the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act the Garda has launched a series of operations designed to disrupt the activities of gangs and gather evidence for use under the new legislative measures. Information on some of these operations which involved raids and searches is in the public domain. It would clearly be counterproductive to provide details in respect of surveillance operations, nor would it be helpful to offer a running public commentary on the actions the Garda is taking against specific gangs. However, the House is entitled to know that the force is determined to use to the full the measures passed by the Oireachtas prior to the summer recess to support it in its efforts to counteract the activities of these gangs. The Garda has been extremely active in the light of the enactment of these legislative provisions. As well as undertaking the operations I have mentioned, it has received legal advice on how best to proceed in what by any standards is new legal terrain. A major conference was recently held in Templemore at which Garda management concentrated on how best to target these gangs in the light of the new legislation.
Selective quotations by Senator Regan do not detract from the fact that the Government has always made it clear that these legislative measures, important though they are, do not represent a panacea against gang crime. The fight against criminal gangs will inevitably be a long one. What the Government has done is to ensure the Garda has the resources, both legal and otherwise, to take on the gangs. The Government is not responsible for media speculation. However, it is worth pointing out that the fundamental point of much of what has been reported is accurate, namely, that the enactment of these items of legislation has equipped the Garda to take on gangs in ways it has been unable to do heretofore. That is precisely what it is doing.
Senator Regan knows well that it is laughable to suggest the effectiveness of any legislation can be judged a mere several weeks after it was passed into law. What is more troubling is that he seems to be of the view that in the profoundly important business of protecting the community procrastination should be substituted for determination and cynicism may be passed off as strategy.
