Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 September 2012
1. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the action that he will take on foot of the paramilitary funeral that took place in Dublin in early September 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39444/12]
View answerI apologise for the Minister's absence. He is indisposed today and sends his apologies. I also join him in congratulating Deputies Collins and Mac Lochlainn on their new appointments and hope they do well in their new brief.
I remind the House that three persons are before the courts following a Garda Síochána operation undertaken in the light of events at the funeral. Deputies will appreciate the need not to say anything which could prejudice proceedings.
I repeat the remarks of the Minister for Justice and Equality following the events at this funeral. Some of the events were reprehensible and absolutely unacceptable. Paramilitary trappings must not blind anyone to the fact that criminal terrorists want, for their own reasons, to drag the people of this island back to a dark past. The Government is determined that they will not succeed in their aim. They and their kind have been disowned by the majority of the people on this island. In treating the will of the people, North and South, with such contempt, they dishonour democracy.
I recognise fully the difficulties which confronted gardaí at the funeral. The Garda Síochána members present had, above all else, a particular responsibility to ensure the safety of the public in what was a crowded environment. Sometimes these events are deliberately orchestrated to try to provoke a reaction from the Garda with a view to generating public disorder and greater publicity for those involved. Both the Minister and the Garda Commissioner have expressed their full support for the operational decisions made by the gardaí on the ground who had to deal with this situation.
Subsequent to these events, the Garda conducted a large number of searches and arrested 17 people. Three individuals were subsequently charged before the Special Criminal Court on Saturday last. I welcome the support which Deputy Collins expressed publicly for the gardaí pursuing this matter.
An Garda Síochána has the Minister's and the Government's full support and the support of this House in its investigation of this matter. The Deputy can be assured that the Garda will continue to take every action open to it to deal with the activities of such individuals, whether they are engaging in terrorism or organised crime. Behaviour of the kind engaged in by some at the funeral was completely unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.
Everyone in this House agrees the images that were broadcast here and further afield were truly shocking. It was disgraceful that such a blatant display of paramilitarism would take place right here in Dublin in broad daylight. These were scenes we thankfully have not witnessed for many years, but we must be frank about this: they were nothing more than blatant criminality that has nothing to do with republicanism. People are hijacking funerals and public events for shows of force related to gangland criminal activity in Dublin. We must work together and that is what I wish to do in raising this issue. We must stamp this out and give every assistance to the Garda Síochána. I call publicly on anyone who has any assistance to offer the Garda to give it to it.
People are before the courts but we must keep uppermost in our minds the extensive reputational damage these displays may have had for the country abroad because doubtless these images were broadcast elsewhere. The Minister made a statement the day after the funeral, but does the Government have a strategy to ensure this does not happen again? Has the Minister or the Department assessed the resources, legislative or otherwise, that are available to ensure this does not take place again? Should there be controls in place for such events if a garda of a senior rank is of the opinion such scenes might recur? Should there be a licensing system to control such funerals? It might sound extreme but this issue is serious in terms of reputational damage and from a public order point of view.
I thank the Deputy for his support. The Minister takes advice from a wide range of people in terms of additional legislation or resources, especially the Garda Commissioner, and no request has been made. The resources the Garda has to deal with dissident terrorist groups are sufficient according to the Commissioner. If additional resources or legislation are required, the Minister will deal with any such requests promptly.
Must the Garda Commissioner submit that request to the Minister or can the Minister initiate that himself? It does not have to be a one-way process because this is an issue that is of huge concern to everyone both in terms of reputational damage and public order. We must consider this seriously because if this happens again, we will be back to square one.
It is not a one-way street. If the Minister sees a gap in the legislation or that additional powers are needed, he will act. As of now, he does not see any additional powers being needed, but the situation will be kept under constant review in light of recent events.
