Govt 'lacks credibility' in crime fight

The Irish Government has lost all credibility in its fight against organised crime, a rival claimed tonight.

Fine Gael justice spokesperson Jim O’Keeffe said Justice Minister Michael McDowell’s policy on tackling crime was in tatters after the third shooting in Dublin within a week.

A man was in a serious but stable condition in the city’s Mater Hospital after being shot early today in the South Finglas area.

That shooting followed the murder yesterday in nearby Cabra of 27-year-old Shay Bradley, who was originally from Londonderry but had been living in North King Street.

The victim of today’s attack was shot around 8.45am but managed to go to a house to raise the alarm.

Fine Gael’s Jim O’Keeffe, also noted that the shootings followed the murder of Donna Cleary in the city last weekend and he claimed criminals were now laughing in the face of the law.

“The Government’s policy on crime is in complete tatters on sentencing, on organised criminal activity and on public safety,” the Cork South West TD alleged.

“The county is awash with cocaine and other hard drugs.

“Now we learn that insufficient resources are being provided to the Gardai, so that a third of bench warrants have not been executed.

“We are only in March but already this year there has been a spate of violent murders, following on from 54 murders last year. Meanwhile the Taoiseach and his Justice Minister cannot even agree on basic principles of policy.”

Opposition TDs have gone on the offensive against Justice Minister Michael McDowell over the past 24 hours after he criticised Fine Gael and Labour’s attitudes towards sentencing.

Labour justice spokesperson Joe Costello accused Mr McDowell and Mr Ahern of trying to shift the blame for current gangland violence onto the judiciary.

“Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats, who have been in government since 1997 and who have promised zero tolerance of crime, must accept the primary part of the responsibility for the way in which criminal gangs have been allowed to thrive through massive drug dealing and to kill with little fear of being brought to justice,” the Dublin Central TD said.

“There was a particularly shameful effort by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice earlier in the week to shift the blame for current gangland violence onto the judiciary.

“The problem with regard to murder is not the courts but the very poor conviction rate especially for gun murders.

“We know from replies to parliamentary questions that there were 75 murders in which guns were used between 1998 and 2004.

“Proceedings were initiated in just 26 cases and convictions were recorded in just 12. This is a policing issue, not a courts issue.”