Gangs kill 16 so far this year

SUNDAY’S assassination- style killing of an innocent Limerick man brings the number of gang-related murders so far this year to 16 — four more than in the whole of last year.

Despite the creation of a full-time Organised Crime Unit in February of this year, 27 gangland killings in the past two years have not resulted in any convictions.

While Garda commitment to tackling the issue is genuine, the lack of any real repercussions for these criminals means they continue to get away with murder.

Figures released by the Department of Justice earlier this year revealed that only one in five gun crimes results in a conviction.

Couple this with latest firearm licensing figures, which show a massive increase in the number of handguns and pistols being licensed — rising from zero in 2004 to more than 1,800 today — and it points to the proliferation of an already dangerous gun culture.

Handguns such as Glocks, Smith and Wesson and Sig Sauer are all readily available to buy online from an Irish-based hunting shop.

And while these guns are more than likely not used for criminal activity, according to Waterford TD John Deasy, it is not clear what they are being used for.

“I have been speaking to the gardaí for some time on this,” he said. “They tell me they have been waiting for legislation from the Department of Justice for two years. There are massive inconsistencies in the way in which licences are issued.

“And you do not have to be a member of a gun club to obtain a licence,” he said.

According to the Department of Justice, a review of firearms legislation is being finalised, and legislative proposals will be forthcoming in the Criminal Justice Bill.

Mr Deasy said he would like to see a total ban on handguns, except in exceptional circumstances.

“At a time when we are insisting that the police should not be armed, why are we arming the public?”

Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said he was more concerned about the illegal guns that the country was awash with, and said a life sentence had to mean life — and not 10 years.

“Department of Justice figures show that the average murder sentence between 1996 and 2006 was just 13 years, making a mockery of life sentences and sending out the wrong signal to gangland criminals,” he said. “This is no deterrent.”

Commenting on the murder of Shane Geoghegan, Limerick’s Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins said it was inevitable something like this was going to happen.

“Crime gang activity is spreading to the wider community and that is a big worry for people. It is very, very serious,” he said. “Innocent bystanders are now being killed and it is not acceptable.”

Mr Collins said he felt the Gardaí are “very much on top of the situation”.

But Mr Flanagan said a specific Government response was needed, and called for a full-time assistant Garda commissioner for Limerick.

“The ongoing anarchy in parts of Limerick demands a specific response from the Government,” he said.

“The gardaí in Limerick must get all the resources they need to put criminals out of business, including 24-hour monitoring and sophisticated electronic surveillance methods.

“This callous killing shows that violent killers are trying to turn parts of Limerick into their own fiefdom, handing down their own twisted version of law and order.”