Gangsters are destroying lives with drugs and murdering with impunity.

The primary duty of the State is to protect the health and physical safety of its citizens, so criminal gangs must be stopped now from waging their war of terror over our communities.

Current Problems
  • Criminal gangs are importing drugs easily through small and private airports and along the largely un-patrolled coastline. Customs monitoring remains totally inadequate - many small airports are never subject to customs checks; while only 2 boats patrol 4,300 kms of coastline. Naval patrols which supplement Customs’ boat patrols, have recently been reduced by 200 days to catastrophically low levels.
  • These drugs are ravaging communities across the State. Gang rivalry has led to 20 gun murders in 2009 and already a large number in the first days of 2010, once again one of the victims being a completely innocent person in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  • Conviction rates are farcical with recent Government replies indicating a 0% conviction rate for gun murders in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
  • Gangsters incarcerated continue to direct their operations from within our prisons through mobile phones.
  • Garda vacancies at senior level are increasing but remain unfilled - over 700 Gardaí retired in 2009.
  • Community Gardaí make up only 6% of the Force.
Last year the FF/Green Government brought in Draconian legislation which they promised would wipe out criminal gangs. 6 months later with 3 months of court sittings, gangsters continue to thrive and the body count continues to grow.

Fine Gael Solution
  1. Endeavour to cut off the drug supply at the source by providing an x-ray scanner at every port; greater patrols along the coastline and by significantly increase Customs presence at smaller airports.
  2. Introduce a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years for murder.
  3. Introduce measures to prevent gangsters from operating from within prisons via mobile phones (full body scanners for visitors etc).
  4. Fill senior Garda posts which are vacant due to a recruitment embargo.
  5. Increase Community policing (currently 6% of Force) by implementing FG’s policies on quotas and incentives.