Garda 'railroaded' into accepting covert legislation

THE GARDA Síochána has been “railroaded” into accepting covert surveillance legislation because of “political imperatives in order to respond to what is happening in our country”, Labour justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte has claimed.

Mr Rabbitte said there had been a major shift in official thinking since he introduced a private member’s Bill in November 2007 on covert surveillance. He said the change was prompted by the gangland killings, “now claiming innocent lives”.

“The Garda’s traditional position has been that it has powers of surveillance and it engages in surveillance of criminal suspects,” Mr Rabbitte said, “but it considers that, if it was required or permissible to make that intelligence admissible as evidence in court, it would somehow be counter-productive in that it could alert criminal suspects to Garda investigative techniques”.

He was speaking during the debate on the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill which aims to facilitate the use as evidence “material gained by means of secret surveillance in criminal proceedings”.

The Bill, published recently, was introduced by Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern. He said the Bill “will ensure that the encroachment on certain rights relating to personal privacy and privacy of property, particularly a dwelling, which this entails is limited and proportionate”.

Mr Ahern also told the Dáil he was considering separate criminal gang legislation which would allow such gangs to be tried in the Special Criminal Court in the same way as subversives.

“In light of the ongoing intimidation of witnesses and jurors I am considering that the powers available to combat subversive organisations be applied equally to criminal gangs.”

It would mean that offences involving criminal gangs would be scheduled in the Offences Against the State Act “so that they will be tried in the Special Criminal Court, unless the Director of Public Prosecutions directs otherwise”, he said.

“I am also considering the introduction of several new organised crime offences with a maximum prison sentence of 15 years to life.”

The measures will be included in separate legislation to deal specifically with criminal gangs.

Fine Gael justice spokesman Charles Flanagan said the Minister had to ensure that the resources available to the State prosecution services were satisfactory to meet the needs of the Garda.

“The DPP himself has indicated that given a 3 per cent cut in his funding for last year, it will be impossible for his office to process its current workload. Nonetheless, we hear flowery statements on the Minister’s part and tough talking to the effect that gangland crime is to be no more and that all the resources of the State will be made available.”

Minister of State Peter Power, a Limerick TD, said the extraordinary circumstances which were faced, particularly in Limerick, “demand an extraordinary response” by all arms of the State.