New FG Proposal will End Suspected Criminals Escaping Justice on “Technicalities” - Senator Eugene Regan

FG Bill will Give Judges Discretion to Allow Evidence Obtained by Mistake or Oversight 

Suspected criminals escaping justice on the grounds of a ‘technicality’ can be ended by the adoption of a new Fine Gael Bill that will give judges the discretion to allow in to evidence material obtained by mistake or oversight, according to Fine Gael Seanad Justice Spokesman, Eugene Regan.  

Senator Regan said that the new Criminal Law (Admissibility of Evidence) Bill 2008 will end the practice whereby evidence obtained by An Garda Síochána through accident or oversight is automatically excluded from criminal trials. 

“The purpose of the Criminal Law (Admissibility of Evidence) Bill 2008 is to abolish the rule of evidence, generally known as the Exclusionary Rule, which provides that evidence obtained by mistake or oversight by An Garda Síochána is automatically deemed inadmissible in criminal trials. 

“There are a number of obvious cases where minor clerical errors or instances where evidence which has been discovered by chance has resulted in a suspected criminal escaping justice. There is the Curtin case where a warrant that had expired by one day resulted in the collapse of the case of a person accused of downloading child pornography. In another instance there was the dismissal of a suspected drug dealer in another well known case (People Vs Joseph Dillon 2002) because the Garda involved in the case took a phone call on the suspected criminal’s mobile phone.  This was ultimately judged to have been a breach of the Interception of Postal Packets & Telecommunications Act 1993. 

“The Fine Gael Bill proposes that the admissibility of evidence is decided on the basis of a balancing of interests between the rights of the accused, and the constitutional rights of the victims of crime, the public interest in the prosecution of crime, and public confidence in the administration of justice. 

“As it stands, the Exclusionary Rule sees that evidence obtained by a mistake of one kind or another by members of An Garda Síochána, which may have the effect of infringing a constitutional   right of an accused, is automatically deemed inadmissible and excluded from court proceedings. Due to the automatic exclusion of such evidence, many cases, ranging from drink driving to more serious crimes, are dismissed on what is generally referred to as a ‘technicality’.  This prevents the effective prosecution of crime and destroys public confidence in the criminal law system. 

“To  formulate  a  rule  of  exclusion based on mere accident deprives a jury  of  the  ability to fairly decide  the  guilt  or  innocence  of the accused on the basis of all the relevant evidence.  

“The new Bill places the rule on the admissibility of evidence improperly or illegally obtained on a statutory basis and brings it into line with that applicable in other common law jurisdictions. 

“It is not the function of criminal courts to discipline police officers by the exclusion of evidence. Any infringements if deemed appropriate should be referred to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and this is provided for in the new Bill.  

“Crime is rife in Ireland today and the sophistication of crime lords is making it increasingly difficult to ensure the effective prosecution of crime. The enactment of the Criminal Law (Admissibility of Evidence) Bill 2008 will go some way to ensuring the effective prosecution of crime while at the same time balancing the interests of the accused and of the victim of crime.”

Copies of the Bill and Explanatory Memorandum are available from the Fine Gael Press Office, 01 618 4076.

How Will the Government Manage The Recession if They Couldn’t Manage The Boom?

The penny seems to have dropped with the Taoiseach regarding the economy.  One reads of corrective action now being taken.  In managing the economy, those responsible must understand it and must have experience of managing an economy in different economic circumstances. 

However, the Government only has experience of managing the boom.  It has even failed at that, to judge from the evidence of €10 billion wasted on such projects as decentralisation and infrastructure. 

When we look at the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance, where is their experience of managing an economy in difficult economic circumstances?  Do these people have qualifications in economics?  Do they have experience in business, banking, finance or commerce? How can we have confidence in the Taoiseach or his Minister for Finance to manage the recession if they have failed to manage the boom?  There is a contrast between the current Government and those of Garret FitzGerald, Alan Dukes and John Bruton, who had the qualifications and the experience of managing an economy in the kind of circumstances which exist today. 

This Government has a lack of experience and qualifications in this area and has a very poor track record over the past ten years.  How can we have confidence that it will manage the economy in this recession?

Fianna Fáil Caught Out on the Economy By the Latest ESRI Report

On the economy, as with so many other things, Fianna Fáil has been caught out.  It is now official because the report comes from the ESRI, not from Fine Gael, although it confirms what we have said.  We do not talk down the economy but if we refuse to debate and analyse it, no lessons are learned and no measures will be taken to correct the situation. 

The reality is that all the good work of the last Fine Gael-Labour Government 1994-97, when we left an economy with an average growth rate of 7.8%, an inflation rate of 1.5% and increasing productivity that has not been exceeded since then. We left an economy in top shape to the Fianna Fáil Government in 1997 and what we are seeing now is the price we pay for incompetent Government.   

As Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Cowen was warned about the effects of his expenditure plans on inflation by the European Commission and the ESRI but he has blown it. The proof is in the latest ESRI report. 

It is the primary responsibility of the Government to manage the public finances.  When we see a budget surplus of €6 billion in 2006 and a deficit of €3 billion this year, that is not good management.  That is where the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, and his Government have failed. 

Dún Laoghaire Leads With Resounding Yes vote

Despite the overall result, I am very pleased with the outcome of the referendum in Dún Laoghaire where we had the highest “Yes” vote in the country, with some 63.5% of voters supporting the Treaty. It seems that what Dún Laoghaire decides in referendums, the rest of the country eventually follows. Dún Laoghaire was the only constituency, with the exception of Dublin South, to vote yes to the first Nice Referendum but the country ultimately followed with a two thirds majority in favour of the Nice Treaty in a second referendum.

Those on the “No” side, including Libertas and Sinn Féin, have argued for a renegotiation of the Lisbon Treaty. The logic of a renegotiation is that what is renegotiated must be ratified either by the Oireachtas or by the people in a referendum.  We can assume therefore that the “No” side will be seeking another referendum on the Lisbon Treaty with whatever guarantees or opt-outs might be negotiated. 

If and when this happens, I believe the rest of the country will follow Dún Laoghaire’s lead and do the right thing by voting yes. I believe that participating fully in the process of European integration and helping to shape that process is where the interests of this country lie. We have benefited and continue to benefit greatly from the EU and we have a keen interest in ensuring it functions effectively, democratically and in a transparent manner.

Ultimately, we will have to decide whether we want to remain in the centre of Europe or enter the slow lane.  Ireland has long experience of being on the periphery in Europe and we do not want to go back there. The people of Dún Laoghaire seem to understand the importance of this more than most.

Eugene’s Blog: No Side Arguments Have Been Undermined

As the campaign on the Lisbon Treaty draws to a close, it would be useful to examine all the arguments made by the “No” campaign, which were completely undermined as information emerged about the Treaty.

There will be no change to Irish neutrality, the 12.5% corporation tax rate, abortion laws, gay marriage, stem cell research, the veto on the WTO agreement, the primacy of EU law or indeed citizenship which was an issue raised recently by Anthony Coughlan who overlooked the provisions in the Treaty in this regard.

It has been also asserted that there would be no requirement for a referendum in future when changes are made to treaties. Again, that has been proven not to be the case. There is no change in workers’ rights except for the better with the introduction of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

What we will have if Lisbon is ratified is a more democratic, transparent and efficient European Union. 

We now have an array of people and organisations opposed to the Treaty. Sinn Fein complains about privatisation and public services while Libertas claims that it is the end of free competition. Not only have we seen bizarre and false arguments made, all these organisations have produced contradictory arguments because they do not agree on any one element of this.