SEANAD REPORT:STERN MEASURES to deal with gangland crime were advocated on both sides of the House as members condemned the murder of Shane Geoghegan in Limerick.
Eoghan Harris (Ind) said the system of prosecuting magistrates, as used in France and Italy, should be introduced here.
The Irish courts seemed to be unwilling to take the word of senior Garda officers about membership of gangs. However, he believed that they would accept the word of prosecuting magistrates who would come from the ranks of trained lawyers.
Eugene Regan, Fine Gael spokesman on justice, said there was an attitude of "good riddance" when those killed were involved in inter-gang warfare, and it had not been taken as seriously by the police or the Department of Justice. One problem in terms of prosecution and conviction was intimidation, and that was where the question of non-jury trials must be considered.
Frances Fitzgerald (FG), said the Minister for Justice should explain why measures in the Criminal Justice Act 2006 were still not being enforced. Why was it that no one had yet been charged with directing gangland activity?
Paul Coghlan (FG) urged that electronic surveillance and wire taps be used.
Denis O'Donovan (FF) said the use of the Special Criminal Court to deal with this kind of crime seemed to be necessary because certain people involved in the illegal drugs trade had no respect for jurors, and most people who served on juries feared for their lives.
Dominic Hannigan (Lab) said it might be time to put the witness protection scheme on a statutory footing. The Garda programme, although well-intentioned, was clearly not doing its job.
Ivana Bacik (Ind) suggested that the primary focus should be on investigation and detection, and particularly on how best to reassure potential witnesses that they would not be subjected to intimidation.
Dan Boyle (GP) said there was a serious problem of intimidation of witnesses and of whole communities in some parts of the country. Parliamentarians needed to examine how this could best be tackled.