KENNY WELCOMES CROSS BORDER ORGANISED CRIME SEMINAR
Posted on October 10, 2012 4:38 PM | Permanent Link
Seán Kenny, Dublin Bay North Labour TD, and member of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, today welcomed the annual cross border seminar held to address organised crime.
"Justice Minister David Ford MLA, and Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter TD have today hosted the annual cross border organised crime seminar. The event provides an opportunity for government and law enforcement agencies from across the island of Ireland to share ideas, discuss emerging issues and threats and develop plans for future operational activity.
"Both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland have longstanding and strong links and this seminar provides a vital opportunity to take stock and plan for the future in terms of how organised crime is dealt with. The level of cooperation that exists ensures considerable effort is being made on both sides of the border to disrupt and dismantle organised crime gangs who bring such harm to our community.
"Organised crime comes in many guises, manifesting wherever there is the opportunity to make financial gain. It will have no regard to the consequences for our communities, for the pain and suffering caused to those who become its victims or for the disruption caused to, and interference in, our legitimate economy.
"Minister Shatter highlighted the link between organised crime activity in both jurisdictions and the activities of paramilitary gangs, and I totally agree with his comment that all the trappings or orations in the world will not disguise the fact that what we are dealing with are criminal gangs.
"Like the very vast majority of people on the island of Ireland, I resent the fact that these groups want to characterise themselves as 'dissidents'. Minister Shatter said that while there was a long and honourable tradition of dissidents in totalitarian regimes, what these people dissent from is democracy itself and the rule of law, and I saw this for myself recently when the criminal Alan Ryan was being buried, which caused quite a lot of disruption in parts of my constituency of Dublin Bay North.
"Human trafficking remains a priority area for both jurisdictions. The levels and potency of illegal drugs, fuel laundering and tobacco fraud also feature heavily along with emerging threats such as an increase in cybercrime. Organised crime gangs exist because of public demand for their goods and services. I would urge everyone to think about the impact these gangs have on our society, to reject the services they offer and report what they know to the police."
