Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is to eliminate the "exceptional" circumstances in which judges have discretion to give less than the minimum 10-year mandatory sentence to serious drugs offenders under new legislation to be published tomorrow.
The Criminal Justice Bill 2007 provides for drug dealers convicted of a first offence of possession or supply of drugs worth more than €500,000, or who receive their second conviction for sale or supply of drugs worth more than €13,000, to be given a minimum mandatory 10-year jail term.
Up to now judges were able to give lesser sentences if they deemed there were exceptional circumstances, something for which Mr McDowell criticised judges last year when he accused them of "going soft" on drug dealers. He said the sentencing role of the judiciary was a vital element in the fight against drugs and gun crime.
The new legislation contains 50 anti-gangland measures, including giving powers to gardaí to detain gang members for up to seven days without charge for a variety of gun crimes. Detention currently runs to a maximum of 72 hours.
There are also provisions aimed at making it harder for gangland suspects to secure bail.
The Bill also allows for:
• The setting up of a DNA database;
• New Garda cautions that failure to answer questions in custody "may be taken into account when determining guilt or innocence";
• Electronic tagging of serious criminal suspects who are being released on bail;
• Those convicted of gangland offences within seven years of release from prison for earlier offences will face enhanced sentences similar to US-style anti-racketeering laws;
• A range of new offences in relation to the possession of drug paraphernalia.
Opposition parties were last night critical of the fact that the new legislation is to be rushed through the Dáil next week with only five hours for debate. They were also unhappy that they only got copies of the Bill yesterday.
Last night Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said the party would facilitate the passage of the Bill through the Dáil, but it would inevitably not be subjected to the rigorous scrutiny it required. "The Minister could, in fact, be creating yet more problems for the future."
However, he welcomed the measure to electronically tag serious criminal suspects who were on bail, a measure which Fine Gael had proposed.
"Every year tens of thousands of suspects are released on bail, and thousands of them go on to commit further crimes. Yet until now Minister McDowell has refused to even consider giving judges the power to electronically monitor criminals."
The Labour Party said last night it was studying the Bill, but said its primary concern was that the Dáil be given adequate time to discuss this important piece of legislation.
Its justice spokesman, Brendan Howlin, said at the weekend that it was inappropriate that the Bill would be guillotined through the Dáil in just two days.