Gangland killings crackdown
Signed witness statements will be accepted as evidence in court cases, even where the witness changes his or her story in court, under legislative changes being examined by the Government.
Responding to the criminal justice crisis sparked by the collapse of the Liam Keane murder trial, the Government yesterday gave an extra €2 million to the Garda Síochána to tackle criminal gangs in Limerick and Dublin this year.
As the Government came under sustained attack, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny described the fallout from the trial collapse as the most serious affront to democracy since the murder of Veronica Guerin and Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said it was time for the Government to demonstrate political determination and leadership to take on the gangs.
Defending the coalition’s record on crime, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said there was a new breed of ruthless younger criminals coming up, but the Government would deal with them.
Committing that whatever was necessary to bring offenders to justice will be done, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said the Government won’t tolerate a cult of killing in the city of Limerick and that no one is beyond the reach of the law.
“It would be foolish for people to believe they can give the two fingers to the community in which they live and not ultimately expect to face the wrath of that community,” he said.
After sparking the crisis by walking free from the Central Criminal Court, yesterday Liam Keane failed to turn up at Limerick District Court to face public order offence charges and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
The Cabinet yesterday discussed a range of legislative changes on the use of witness testimony, put forward by Mr McDowell, which Attorney General Rory Brady is now examining.
The minister wants to copy a Canadian law, where witness statements can, in certain circumstances, be admitted as evidence, even if they are subsequently disputed or disavowed.
According to the minister, if implemented by the courts this law might produce different outcomes where witnesses prove hostile. At the moment, the courts deem earlier statements, which are then contradicted by witnesses, to have no value as evidence.
The law penalising the failure to report serious crimes and failing to give an account of knowledge of a felony in a formal statement is also being looked at with a view to strengthening this legislation.
The minister also said that jurors must be given better security and he is examining ways to give them a new sense of protection.
While the Government was outlining its proposals, a leading support group said that victims and witnesses are increasingly reluctant to testify against attackers for fear of retaliation.
Victim Support has called for the law to be changed so personal details of victims and witnesses are not given to the defendant and their counsel until they testify.
Victim Support spokesperson Ann Meade yesterday said many victims, particularly young males, were scared of reporting a crime to gardaí and giving evidence and that long delays in the criminal justice system continued to be a major problem.
In Limerick yesterday, there were calls for the tactics adopted in Sicily to deal with the mafia to be used against criminal gangs.
Fine Gael councillor Diarmuid Scully said the Sicilians successfully tackled the mafia by taking them on the hard way, putting in specialised units and by hearing trials in judge only non-jury courts with adequate protection for witnesses.
“The ordinary community garda unarmed can’t tackle these people. They have machine guns, some others have rifles and grenades. It is a totally different scenario,” he said.
Last night, the Oireachtas Justice Committee agreed to invite interested parties to appear before it to present their concerns and recommendations on the Minister’s review of the criminal justice system.
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