Justice Committee must hear from Garda Commissioner on spate of violent crimes – Collins
Published on: 25 September 2012
Justice Spokesperson Niall Collins is calling on the Justice Committee to hold a special hearing with the Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan following a spate of violent crimes including last week’s violent home invasion in Sligo, the brutal murder of a man in front of two children in Laois yesterday and last night’s latest gangland-style shooting in Dublin.
Deputy Collins said: “There is a widespread fear now that a sinister criminal element in the country no longer fears the rule of law and is prepared to commit the most violent of crimes at any time of the day or night with no regard for the safety of communities.
“I am appalled at the circumstances surrounding the murder of a man in Laois yesterday morning in which he was shot dead in cold blood in front of two children, including an 11 year old girl. This is absolutely disgraceful and was followed only a matter of hours later by a gangland-style shooting in Dublin last night. We cannot allow such criminals to stalk the streets at will.
“The Gardai are doing a tremendous job tackling organised crime – we have seen particular evidence of that in the last couple of weeks – but the recent spate of crimes including a violent home invasion in Sligo and yesterday’s brazen murder in Laois demand a political response.
“I will be writing to the Chairman of the Justice Committee David Stanton today seeking a special committee hearing with Commissioner Callinan. We need to know that everything possible to catch these criminals is being done and that nothing is standing in the way of the gardai – but also we need to hear from the Garda Commissioner himself that he has the appropriate resources and legislation at his disposal to prevent these crimes.
“Gardai have a very strong record on crime detection but there is a fear in our communities now that more needs to be done to prevent violent crime – a fear that must be addressed as a matter of urgency.”