I move:
That Dáil Éireann resolves that sections 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996 (No. 29 of 1996), shall continue in operation for the period ending on the 31st day of December, 1998.
This afternoon is somewhat historic. I would not presume it to be so simply because it is my first opportunity to address the House as a member of the Government, but it is worth noting this is the first time the House has been addressed by a Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. It is a wide and important brief and I am honoured to have been given responsibility for it.
It is correct that at the first opportunity I should assure the House — lest there be any doubt on this score — that in the creation of the new Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform there is no question of any lesser priority being given to matters which were the responsibility of the Department of Equality and Law Reform. I pay tribute to the work done by the staff of that Department in the past few years. The combined resources and expertise of the former Departments of Equality and Law Reform and Justice will be well placed to address the formidable agenda facing us. It would be remiss of me not to mention the sterling work done by the former Minister, Mr. Taylor, when he was responsible for the equality and law reform brief. I am delighted that in facing these challenges I will be assisted by the newly appointed Minister of State, Deputy Wallace, who will have special responsibility for equality and disability issues.
I also pay tribute to my predecessor in office, Deputy Owen. As Opposition spokesman on Justice, I was justifiably critical of the previous Government's record on crime, but it would be churlish of me not to accept that as Minister for Justice she gave a great deal of personal commitment to making improvements in the criminal justice system and together in this House we succeeded in bringing about considerable reform. To that extent I feel I am continuing today where I left off.
Turning to the very important resolution before the House, certain sections of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, primarily relating to extra detention powers for the gardaí, will under the terms of the Act cease to be in operation from 9 September 1997 unless a resolution is passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas extending their operation. The main section at issue is section 2 which allows persons suspected of drug trafficking offences to be detained for up to seven days. The purpose of the resolution is to continue the relevant sections of the Act in force until 31 December 1998.
It is hard to imagine a more corrosive threat to the quality of life in our community than that posed by those who engage in the evil trade of drug trafficking. Their activities have brought about death and destruction on an incalculable scale. Families have been destroyed and communities have literally being placed under siege. There is probably no greater fear among parents rearing children today than that they will fall prey to drug abuse.
The Government is committed to tackling drug abuse in a comprehensive way. We will take steps to reduce the demand for drugs through education and community based initiatives. We will offer our services to those who have become addicted to drugs to help them break their habit. We clearly recognise that a criminal justice system on its own cannot comprehensively tackle the problem of drug abuse. However, the criminal justice system has a vital role in curbing the activities of drug traffickers. This Government will ensure that role is played fully and relentlessly.
One message should go clearly from this House today; there will be absolutely no let up in the fight against drug trafficking. The fight will be intensified. The full resources of the State will be deployed in this area. Where those resources need to be enhanced, I guarantee the House and, through it, the people that they will be.
Over the past year or so considerable progress has been made in taking on drug traffickers, but there is no room for complacency or defeatism. It is generally accepted that the proceeds of crime legislation, which I introduced from the other side of this House last year and which was taken on board by the then Government, has greatly assisted the Garda and other agencies in ensuring that crime does not pay. I place on record — and I am sure all Members will join me in this — our appreciation of the work which has been done by all the agencies involved, particularly by the staff of the Criminal Assets Bureau. However, our ultimate aim is not to seize the profits of drug trafficking: it is to put drug traffickers out of business altogether. To achieve this we need to ensure that the Garda have the necessary powers available to them to investigate fully drug offences.
It is in this context that the resolution before the House today is being brought forward. It is appropriate that the first substantive debate on legislative measures in the 28th Dáil relates to the fight against drug trafficking. I know the previous Government intended to move a resolution along these lines and it is right that this House has taken the earliest opportunity available to it to proceed with this measure. I thank members of the Opposition for their co-operation.
Having had the honour of being appointed Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I have a very full agenda. We will have many opportunities in the House to debate all the issues involved.
Obviously, it would not be appropriate or possible during this short debate to deal with criminal justice matters generally in great detail, but in the context of this debate it would be useful to announce to the House that I hope to bring forward a Criminal Justice Bill in the autumn which will contain a series of strong measures to tighten the vice further on drug traffickers and other serious criminals.
I intend that the Bill, as one of a number of measures to speed up trials, will include provision for the abolition of the preliminary examination system. There will be improved procedures for going after the assets of people convicted of drug trafficking offences through allowing a court to initiate an asset inquiry. It will deal with tougher sentencing so that those convicted of serious drug trafficking offences will know that they will inevitably face sentences of 10 years or more. This was an amendment I moved in this House and in committee on at least three occasions as Opposition spokesperson on justice. My view then was that it should be introduced. My view now, in Government, is that it should be introduced. I intend to be entirely consistent.
I turn now to the technical details of the resolution before the House. Section 11 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996, provides that section 2, powers of detention, section 3, the amendment of the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence) Act, 1990, section 4, rearrest, section 5, the application of provisions of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, and section 6, regulations regarding officers of customs and excise, shall cease to be in operation at the expiry of 12 months from the date of their commencement unless resolutions are passed by each House of the Oireachtas continuing their operation.
All provisions of the 1996 Act were commenced by ministerial order on 9 September 1996. Section 11 of the 1996 Act also provides that before such resolutions may be passed the Minister for Justice must cause to be laid before each House a report on the operation of the sections in question covering the period ending not more than 21 days before the moving of the resolution. Before leaving office my predecessor laid such a report covering the period up to 16 June 1996. However, in the light of the 21 day requirement I arranged last Monday to have a second report covering the period up to 27 June laid before the Oireachtas.
When the 1996 Act was going through the Oireachtas last year it had widespread support — indeed, it followed a Misuse of Drugs Bill which I had introduced which would also have allowed for 7 day detention in drug trafficking cases. However, it was agreed that given the very strong detention powers which the measure contained it was right that the measure should be reviewed regularly by the Oireachtas and it is against this background that the House is being asked to continue the relevant provisions in operation until 31 December 1998.
While they are already available in the report which I mentioned, it may be useful for the purposes of this debate to give some statistics provided by the Garda authorities in relation to the operation of the provisions in question. These cover the period 9 September 1996 to 27 June 1997. The total number of persons detained under section 2 of the Act was 145. Of these 48 were held for a period not exceeding 6 hours; 50 between 6 hours and 24 hours; 26 between 24 and 48 hours; 10 between 48 hours and 120 hours; and 11 between 120 hours to 168 hours. Of the 145, 97 were released without charge and 48 were charged. Of that 48, three were convicted, four were acquitted and 41 cases are pending.
It might be worth reminding the House that under the terms of the section detention for periods up to 48 hours can be approved by members of the Garda Síochána of specified rank; periods greater than that have to be authorised by the courts. I should also mention specifically section 6 of the Act which enabled the Minister for Justice, following consultation with the Minister for Finance, to make regulations providing for the attendance of an officer of customs and excise at, and the participation of such an officer in, the questioning of persons detained under the provisions of the Act. As the report points out, work is proceeding on the preparation of regulations under the section which will be the subject of consultations with the Minister for Finance and the Garda authorities.
The Garda authorities have indicated that the provisions of the Drug Trafficking Act have proved beneficial to the force in their investigation of drug trafficking offences. In my view the operation of the relevant sections of the Act for the relatively short period in question has made a substantial contribution to the fight against the drugs menace. The continuation in operation of these sections together with other strong measures which I propose to take are necessary so that we can continue to tackle head on those who engage in drug trafficking. That is why I commend this resolution to the House.