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Home arrow News arrow Local News arrow Political chorus of condemnation for Shane’s murder
Political chorus of condemnation for Shane’s murder E-mail
Written by Rachael Finucane   
Wednesday, 19 November 2008

POLITICIANS from across Ireland have joined in a chorus of condemnation amid calls for action against gangland crime at the tragic killing of Shane Geoghegan in Limerick last week.
Limerick TD, Jan O'Sullivan, extended her sympathy to Shane’s family and friends. “I attended his funeral and the words on everybody's lips were 'Please do something' and in turn, I am asking the minister to do something. People want us to do whatever is necessary to smash these gangs, take away their power and put them behind bars where they belong,” she said.
"That may mean providing more money to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, so that they can successfully prosecute cases like this. In addition we need legislation that will allow Gardai to use information that they come across in the course of surveillance work, to be used in evidence against these killers. I also believe that the Criminal Assets Bureau needs more resources and that the minimum value of assets that they can go after, needs to be reduced," she said, adding that issues associated with drugs need to be addressed.
Former Labour leader, Pat Rabbitte, said that "this may be the latest murder of an innocent bystander in the mayhem of gangland feuding but it is not the first. The fact that a law-abiding citizen can be shot down, in the vicinity of his own home, has shocked the country".
“We ought to be agreed on two objectives. Firstly to get the criminal gangs off our streets. Secondly to prevent a new generation of youth being manipulated into criminality. We are failing in both objectives. The principal cause of the mayhem being acted out on our streets every single weekend is the wealth to be gained from the illegal drugs trade," he said, adding that there have been 160 gun murders in the last 10 years “and only 22 convictions”.
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern, said that “the Government will rule nothing out which is reasonable and consistent with the rule of law in tackling these gangs head on. Various Deputies on all sides of the House have made specific suggestions during the course of this week and I have no doubt more will do so today. I will examine all those suggestions with an open mind”.
He also offered his sincere condolences to Shane's family and paid tribute to the Garda, which is working hard at solving the crime.
"There were 27 murders involving a firearm in 2006 and this was reduced to 18 in 2007…In the past year alone there has been a 12% increase in Garda numbers in Limerick City and a 40% increase since 2003…We have made too an unprecedented investment in equipment and technology for the Force…We have made substantial changes to the criminal law," he said.


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