ASBOs 'more lenient' than British counterparts

The controversial anti-social behaviour orders will not be as tough as their British equivalents, it emerged tonight.

Critics have claimed the civil orders have unfairly targeted vulnerable groups in Britain such as the mentally ill, young children and drug addicts.

Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said the anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) proposed in his forthcoming Criminal Justice Bill would be significantly different.

“They’ll be restricted to serious offences. Some of the criticism of ASBOs in Britain is that they’ve been used in circumstances where people would consider the anti-social behaviour on the low side of seriousness.”

With ASBOs, gardaí of superintendent rank or higher can apply to the courts by way of civil procedure to grant an order restricting a person from engaging in anti-social behaviour.

Mr McDowell said that unlike in Britain, local authorities would not be allowed to issue ASBOs.

While ASBOs in Britain have a minimum lifespan of two years, the Irish versions will have a maximum lifespan of two years.

The plan to introduce ASBOs had inspired the creation of an anti-ASBO lobby group and had also been queried by the Minister of State for Children Brian Lenihan.

The ongoing gangland feud in Dublin has prompted Mr McDowell to introduce a new offence for membership of a criminal gang.

“The experience of Canada is that it’s been difficult to prove the existence of such bodies but just because something is difficult to prove doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be a criminal offence,” he said.

The amended Criminal Justice Bill will also contain a new offence of supplying drugs to prisoners, a new offence of attacks on emergency workers and mandatory minimum sentences of between five and 10 years for the possession of firearms.

Mr McDowell said many importations of drugs now had a lucky bag of firearms attached to them.

“The ease with which firearms can be imported into the country has affected the nature of criminality in Ireland.

"In order to keep an unarmed police force, any use or possession of firearms by criminals must be treated with extreme severity so the message goes to those who would challenge the authority of the state and carry on using firearms that their behaviour will not be tolerated.”

The Criminal Justice Bill will also contain provisions for electronic tagging of certain offenders and the establishment of a Drug Offenders Register.

Mr McDowell said the bill, which has been in preparation for the last three years, would certainly be in place by the first half of next year.