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GARDAÍ ARE SET to be given powers to crack down on criminals communicating using emails, social media and messaging apps.
Amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Bill brought before Cabinet today by Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald contain measures aimed at tackling gangland-related crime – including the introduction of a mini Criminal Assets Bureau.
In a statement today, the minister has said that it is her aim to “enhance and update the legislative framework for the lawful interception of communications and for covert electronic surveillance”, something that will allow gardaí to:
Combat the threats from serious and organised crime and terrorism.
The spate of recent killings in Dublin’s inner city has seen this brought forward as a “matter of urgency” and plans are for it to be on the statute books by the end of the year.
Updating legislation
The plans for this legislative overhaul were announced in May, and is applying significant updates to laws originally introduced in the 1990s to tackle gangland crime in the wake of Veronica Guerin’s murder.
A key element of this is a change to the amount of money that can be seized, something determined in the Criminal Justice Act 1994.
The amount gardaí or Revenue Officers can be seized will come down from €6,500 to €1,000 – allowing lower-level criminals to be targeted.
The motion of approval on this is set to go before the Dáil tomorrow evening.
How is property considered to be the proceeds of crime?
One nuance of the Proceeds of Crime Act – which legislates for the seizure criminal assets – is that it is a civil act, not a criminal one.
What this means is that for a person’s assets to be seized they do not necessarily need to be convicted of a crime – as property is targeted, not the individual.
The determination about whether or not property can be taken comes down from the Garda Chief Superintendent, whose opinion will later be admitted as evidence.
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Don’t bother with it anymore, on me bike
@Stevie Doran: Agreed but people will throw any excuse at you for not cycling. How thin is some peoples skin? They need to toughen up, get out in the Irish wind and rain and fight gravity.
@Finn Faulkner: going into an office after fighting the elements with no changing or showering facilities isn’t viable for some people or people with health difficulties.
@Finn Faulkner: I’d like to think I’m pretty hardy, have cycled to college/work for over two decades now and that includes two pregnancies and balancing two children on the bike at one stage! I’d rather stick needles in my eyes than sit in that hell on a daily basis. Even to walk is a far better option, whilst cyclists have a bad reputation it really is the best solution to our traffic (and health) issues. The only weather condition that puts the fear into me is black ice and frosty roads. Then I’ll walk or cycle the long way on the main roads
@Jason Burns: your right Jason…commuting by bike is not for everyone. Some people don’t plan ahead and leave work clothes in work on Mondays and cycle Tuesday-Friday. Some people have health issues which are directly related to inactivity and bad eating habits. There are also a lot of people who drive to work because they have a company car/car allowance/Fuel allowance and possibly free parking …(which doesn’t give them any incentive to cycle or use public transport).
@Jason Burns: No mode of transport suits everyone in every situation… Bus.. Stop is too far.. Luas.. Too packed.. Taxi.. Too expense… Walking.. too far.. cycling.. too unsuitable… private car.. no parking…/too slow…
@Stevie Doran: So green line long Luas idea is abandoned or not? They run first long luas for one day and that’s all ?
@Alan Kelly: You left out another reason; that sitting high up on your saddle gradually turns you into a sanctimonious and insufferable arsehole who looks down his nose at others and thinks the rules of the road doesn’t apply to him.
@Darren Tully: I love you too Darren!
@Darren Tully: It’s called the driving seat not saddle!
@Alan Kelly: So you have the luxury of having a locker and a shower in work.
As far as health concerns go, cycling through the city center is not healthy. The fumes from cars and busses is worse than smoking. Then add to the fact that you seriously put your life at risk as many drivers do not pay attention to cyclists.
@Andy K: Balderdash! Walking and sitting in a car is just as bad for your lungs!
@Stevie Doran: Unfortunately, not a whit of consideration was given to cyclists when redesigning College Green. It’s more dangerous now than ever.
@Andy K: I don’t have a shower or locker facilities in work. I do have free car parking space!
@Jason Burns: I have a guy with MS, with Cancer, with Stroke, one leg and also one arm cycling. So tell me what is your excuse? There is a solution for everything. You don’t want to workout? Get a eBike.
Where is the so called Minister for Transport ? He’s quick enough out of the traps for local matters but silent as the grave re his so called ministerial portfolio.
@Mary King: Imagine what he would be saying if he was in opposition?!!
@Mary King: he’s too busy picking new paint &wallpaper for Stepaside garda station. It’ll look lovely when it’s open again ..traffic chaos? what traffic chaos?
@Mary King: Shane Ross is incompetent.
A troop of Chimpanzees on crack would sort it out quicker, and more efficiently.
@Paul Culligan: But they wouldn’t get that much into their pockets, that’s for sure..
This story just gets better lads. How much again????
@Universal Soldier: too much….they could have had a underground line from Stephen Green to O’ Connells Street for what they spent on an over ground.
@noBankAccBertie: Id love to see some official costs to date and projected costs for moving it under. Would have been ideal.
@Finn Faulkner: Never going to happen with taxpayers money……totally buried under every consultant fees under the sun…..but yes you are right it would be good to nice the differental.
@noBankAccBertie: This was originally planned back in 1999.
In the last decade, I’ve almost stopped going into the city centre (even on my bike), as I can 90% of things done elsewhere or online. The city is getting hollowed out by lack of planning and ridiculous commercial rents and rates. Lack of regional development is killing Dublin as well as the regions.
@Type17:
Here here, I’d say I travel to Dublin City Centre maybe twice a year!
It’s just not worth the hassle of getting in and out of.
@Type17: You are not missed I afraid as Dublin centre is packed like never before. It is incredible, even in usually quiet office areas like Docklands or Merrion / Fitzwiliam Sq. new bars and coffees appeared and lot of people use then till late night.
@Type17: Yes, if the city centre wasn’t so crowded more people would go there.
Get a bike. Seriously. Bike to work scheme also includes helmet clothing and lights if you work out your budget. Get 2 locks at least one decent one, or hell, bring it into work and lock it inside.
Follow the rules of the road no headphones just in case, always indicate and be aware at all times.
But hey sit on your rear for X minutes a day. Grow that fat. Whatever. Commute safely people.
@Finn Faulkner: sit in sweaty clothes all day…
@john Appleseed: Nope have a spare t shirt shirt boxers and trousers in the bag. If you fail to prepare, prepare to smell. And the sweat issue becomes non existant once you get your fitness up and get used to the elements.
@john Appleseed: yeah, not everyone has shower facilities at work. And who wants to cycle in winter? Wet, cold, dangerous..
@Peter Brophy: It all depends on distance and gradient. Granted the clothing issue and restrictions that puts on you etc., but you can quite easily fit a saddle bag to the rear of your bike that can carry said spare clothes. And the shower excuse is a bit sad. Unless your a fat lard with an extremely bad diet, then body odour isnt an issue. Have some wet wipes for the armpits and bingo your sorted. A bit of Lynx and your ready to rock.
I sound as though Im flogging a dead horse but in reality the time it takes to do all that doesnt amount to much if you’re organised. People are so time strapped nowadays……
@Finn Faulkner:
Not all employers offer the cycle to work scheme, despite the fact that they are supposed to!
@moneymaid: That is true. And I think there is a labelling issue with people who cycle to work. They are looked at as eccentric or unusual. In a modern work environment you want to fit in, not stand out with your large helmet lycra esque gear and two wheeled steed. But ya dont need lycra or carbon wheels. With Dublin designed the way it is, the cycling utopia of the Netherlands is a long long way off.
@Finn Faulkner: I bike but luckily I have showers and work supplies clothes. And it takes me over an hour less to get to work than using public transport.
@David Edwards: Do many at your workplace cycle?
@Peter Brophy: Cycling in winter is very doable. Cycling generates HEAT. with the right clothes you’ll be warmer cycling than you would be walking or on a bus.
@Alan Kelly: Yes but that initial snap of cold is BLEEDIN AWFUL. I have to dress like a jihadist sometimes to keep my neck warm. I look like a farq guerilla with my buff neckwarmer.
@Finn Faulkner: Can’t argue with that! :) The hardest part about cycling in winter is actually motivating yourself to do it. I’ve never regretted cycling into work, but i’ve regretted taking the car lots of times!
@Finn Faulkner: And what if you work 20+ miles from home that requires motorways and dont have any storage in work for clothes or showers etc? as many people do? Cycling is fine, but stop assuming that it’s in any way suitable for so many people. It simply is not an alternative for a large part of the population.
@Peter Brophy: Are the Irish really soft? A bit of rain and cold and we all dive into a warm car?
Be more like the Danes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mXOqv38euQ
@Trevor Donoghue: The world is full of what if’s and If Only’s…
@Trevor Donoghue: Yes agreed. But 20 kilometres is vastly different than 20 miles. I think the sweet spot is 15 km or less = bike it. The problem with showers is slightly negligible, but storage? Sure just bring a bag and put any smellies in there. you would be surprised at how much you can carry on a bike. Rucksack + Saddle bag = laptop phone charging stuff wipes clothes lights rain jacket
@Finn Faulkner: E-Bikes… good speed for little effort..
@Trevor Donoghue: Do ten miles in the car to clear the motorways. Put the bike on a rack and park outside the city. Do the last 10 on a bike. If you need to carry lots of gear consider panniers on a hybrid. If you are a tradesman use a cargo bike. Copenhagen is the cycling capital of the World. It’s a lot colder there. They only started to really invest in the 70′s as they realised how bad motors were for the city – the noise, the space, the stress, the cost. A bike is the best way around Dublin. A ten mile commute is nothing after you’ve done it a few times. Winter is actually my favourite time to cycle. Rewards far out way the cold.
@johngough: Thats a good idea.
Cycling in winter is right criac get your thermals from the German supermarkets and off you go. You’ll never feel as alive as blasting around on the bike on a frosty morning !!!
@Finn Faulkner: Ah, sure bring a sleeping blanket and your food for the week in plastic containers and you won`t have to go home at all at all, and free up more space on public transport and on the road.
Suddenly in the past few weeks, taxi drivers are suddenly showing concern for their customers. A mate of mine was in a taxi once who refused to take a short cut to his house from the airport, insisted on going the long way round via m50.
@Dermot Lane: report him/her
@Dermot Lane: What that taxi driver did was illegal and he can be reported.
In fact, the taxi apps track that now and if you feel hard done by, it’s a simple case of contacting the app provider and if they see that kind of thing, you can get your money refunded and it’s a black mark against that driver who can eventually be struck off the app.
Taxi drivers have been prosecuted and fined for this sort of thing in the past.
@Reuben Gray: What app would that be?
@Reuben Gray: Love to know tjis app.
@Paul Matthews:I think he’s referring to if you got a taxi via Hailo (now MyTaxi) or similar app.
If you flagged down or rung for a taxi, there ain’t an app for your grievance then but you have ways of reporting that still.
@Reuben Gray: except using an app to hail a taxi from the airport is a nightmare. They should be allowed pick up from the normal taxi rank. Most airport taxi drivers don’t take card either so that’s some welcome to visitors from abroad. Sorry, Mick doesn’t care about convenient, safer payment or taxi order methods for customers, you’ll have to jump out into the rain to use the ATM on Dorset street.
Wow I’m sure they thought of all the risks during the design phase
@Stephen Devlin: Risk was taken and it didnt work. New 55 metre long luas did only one day duty and is now rusting in Sandyford depot.
Can someone explain to my why was the Luas not built underground?
Is there an actual reason, besides costs, that this couldn’t happen?
@moneymaid: yes trams don’t run underground…
@moneymaid: Costs and time, underground is longer to get approved and significantly longer to build too and wouldn’t have suited this extension starting in the city as the way to do it is to dig two massive pits at each end to stick the TBMs in plus I can’t think of what congestion would be caused from digging up a large portion of college green and O’Connell Street (Where there’s no space without buying and knocking a building otherwise) to build stations.
Trams can have stations less spaced out too (Based on Metro North’s spacing of stations, this extension would have perhaps added 2 stops; O’Connol St. & Broombridge if underground) so better for transport across a smaller distance in populated areas.
@Shane Corry: At the time Luas Cross City was approved to go ahead, the Metro North already had planning permission. Leo Varadkar, as Minister for Transport decided to postpone Metro North and we built this instead.
Now it’s a disaster and we’re asking the predictable questions of why it didn’t go underground. Instead of cracking on and building Metro North, Fine Gael, and SHANE ROSS have decided to scrap it and redesign it almost identically, with a vague promise that it’ll be done before 2027.
Guess we’ll just have to suffer until then.
@moneymaid: there’s actually nobody in charge with any responsibility , there’s a whole bunch of different “stakeholders” and different agencies and transport bodies and motoring bodies and cycling enthusiasts and ministers faffing – but there’s clearly no smart PLANNING , I mean somebody decided on a 10km speed restriction ?? Defeats the purpose of having rail and tram lines if they are mandated to just go slower but take up valuable road space / just visit any of the many cities around the world with rail and tram services and compare how efficient and better planned they ALL seem
@Search Eagle: The cross-coty extension (prev. Luas line BX) started being planned in 2005-2006 with construction originally planned to start in 2008, they were always both meant to be built so the cross city didn’t come in to replace anything. As mentioned already, a tram isn’t comparable to a metro for inner-city transfers because a tram can have like 3 stops in an area where a metro can have 1.
@Paul: yes they do, some even still use over head cables, but most just use a third power rail to save on over head space
This backward little country has some serious psychological problems with building tunnels and tall buildings. Any hint of modern structures and the serial conservative objectors come out in force.
Mary O’Rourke, when she was Public Enterprise minister in 1997 gave the go ahead for the original Luas green line. In her decision, the Luas was to travel by tunnel from Charlemont to Parnell square and continue to Broombridge. Needless to say, the old pinkos came out with appeals all over the place and it never happened. Hence why we are where we are. The “metro” plan has been promised since 1997 when the late Seamus Brennan proposed it. These left wing so called conservationists have successfully blocked tall buildings and tunnels for the last 30 years. This liberal BS attitude of “people have a right to object” has got us to this point. A government is supposed to govern and make decisions. Time for Varadkar and Co to stand up and manage.
@Michael Fehily: agree with your sentiment that a government is suppose to govern , but your version if history in relation to Mary O rourke etc is completely wrong and in fact the opposite was true – they DELAYED the building of LUAS when it was pointed out that the city would be bedeviled with roadworks delays and congestion during an election year , played the worst kind of politics with infrastructure , scrapped the north side Luas , proceeded without the cross city element building two disjointed lines and the very LAST THING they could be accused of was letting governments govern. Total hypocrisy
@Dave Hammond: Dave… Wrong I’m afraid.. Mary O’Rourke gave the go ahead for Luas to go under the city from Charlemont to Parnell where the green line would continue to Broombridge. The leftists in the Dail and serial objectors frank Mcdonald in the Irish times succeeded in preventing the underground section being built. Hence we are where we are.
@Michael Fehily: I didn’t say Mary O Rourke didn’t give the go ahead – and `im Sorry but you are Wrong Im afraid Michael – It is FACT the government at the time intentionally delayed the timing of the building of the tram and ordered additional ‘reviews’ ONLY because the timing of the building would coincide with election , this was for the original luas works and they were genuinely afraid of the perception the city would be in a mess – I took with issue with your sugar coated version because it is hypocrisy to pontificate about how goverments should govern when there was such nonsense politics played with the tram introduction.
Ffs, its not rocket science what is needed is a subway or dare I say monorail.
Bring in that Japanese company that offered to do it for free.
I don’t even consider job offers from Dublin anymore, its that bad.
10km/hr?? Why not stick with what the Red line is capped at with 30km/hr or at least meet in the middle at 20km/hr? Hopefully that is only meant to be tempoary until people get used to the fact the Luas is there.
Just dig down 20 foot and bury the Luas beneath the street.
The Luas construction teams are second to none, will only take a few months.
@alphanautica: Im sure there are problems with that as well. Its a great idea. But planning, road works, and the cost and hassle gaurantee it wont be done until things get bad. Typical Ireland.
@alphanautica: the drivers are the real heroes here. I say give them a long overdue pay rise, in fact double their wages. I don’t mind paying higher fares to watch full trams pull into the stop every ten minutes
@alphanautica: bury it and leave it there!
@alphanautica: bury it and leave it there
@alphanautica: I agree with under ground but on the off chance you’re not being sarcastic, it’s not so straight forward… a) the typical diameter for a train tunnel is 7m (23ft) and the shallower you put it the greater the effect of volume loss (more damage) on the above buildings. Realistically you need to do down about 20m (65ft) to bore a tunnel.
@Gearóid Ó Murchú: jaysus thats deep. And costly. Radon and other gasses a problem? The noise and time needed would be unreal…..
With Owen Keeghan in charge it was always going to be FUBAR.
I was in Madeira last year and I travelled in a 2km tunnel that was bored through a mountain in 6 months. Get those guys over here to drill the underground tunnel.
@John O’Neill: Did that mountain contain electrical cable , fiber cable, water/sewage ducts also 100′s of basements, protected buildings, streams and foundations? Did they have to dig a crater sized hole into a historical public park? Did they have to tunnel up to the surface every few 100m’s to build a metro station?
The level of failure by this so called “government”is farcical.What will it take to end this? A traffic system that was marginally functioning is now at a standstill.This is after millions in so called planning advisors.Wouldn’t organise a p*iss up in a brewery!!!!
@Phil O’Connor: I’m no fan of this govt Phil but the problems go back to the 70′s. This is when DART underground was first presented to the late John Wilson then minister for Transport. This lack of planning over decades has brought the city to the third world mess that it is now.
Oh dear what a mess
@Tony Stack: They should have put a Dutch man in charge and it would have been done properly. The underground in Rotterdam is excellent as is their tram system and bus system and and
It’s clear to see that the launch of Luas Cross City has been a total disaster. The Green Line’s once excellent service now lies in tatters, and instead of addressing the problem by building the Metro line that already has planning permission, Shane Ross, Varadkar and the rest of FG are arseing about redesigning it for the umpteenth time while our city comes to a standstill.
That cannot be said enough. There is a Metro line with PLANNING PERMISSION that would solve all of these issues, that we’ve spent 100 million euro+++, which we are going through the totally unnecessary process of redesigning, while our city has ground to a halt. It’s contemptible.
Glasgow, Scotland, has a nice underground rail service that should be an inspiration.
How come it is the buses which have to move? Dublin Bus carry more passengers than the Luas each day and in particular from the north side to the south side. The buses being re-routed are cross city buses, mainly from the north side! I only come into the city now for work because Dublin Corporation seem to want tourists in town and not those of us who live outside. Any talk of the Luas to the North side is based around going to the airport – what about the people who live on the North side who are not near Dart, Luas or trains? I heard a pundit on RTE last week say there was no need for the Luas on the north side as you can get a bus from O’Connell street to the airport and be there in 20 mins. Obviously a south sider !!
@Lucia McCullagh: they all carry more than taxis.
Metro North, or whatever the PR people are calling it now, will never be built because it is on the north side of Dublin. Two commentators on RTE over the last week queried the amount of money being spent to build a metro to the airport ! I heard one recently say there was no point as you could get a bus from O’Connell St and be in the airport in 20 minutes. What about the people who live along the proposed route and who have to try and commute on buses or over-crowded trains (if they can get to a train station)? This metro should be about the people living on the north side, not getting to the airport. The re-routing of Dublin buses is for many cross city routes where some times the bus is the only transport available. This not only affects those going to work but people, perhaps elderly, going to hospitals etc.
@Lucia McCullagh: A lot of RTE people who don’t think people on the North side of Dublin deserve decent public transport.
@Lucia McCullagh: I heard that debate Lucia and you are 100% right – there was NO MENTION or discussion about the benefits to all the Northside suburbs that would held reduce car journeys into the centre if the metro alternative existed , the Northside is woefully lacking in tram / rail options as alternative to cars – thought it was interesting that only DAYS after the BIG PLAN that it was Metro and Northside rail elements that were immediately being spun as being too expensive etc etc – the studies have show what common sense tells us – if you offer people efficient and good quality public service transport alternatives it reduces the congestion and make much more sense – saying theres a tunnel ( that costs 10 quid to drive thru in primetime ) that buses to the airport can use seems to miss the point altogether about what Metro will actually do.
Having just come back from Brussels & Amsterdam investigating how their Tram system (WORKS) it’s pretty clear Luas is not going to work in Dublin or any other Irish city center! where a 10km/h speed limit has been imposed by the Commissioner for Railway!
From state bankruptcy to the luas disaster probably onto the children’s hospital, not to mention a housing crisis, yearly public hospital crisis, and we still vote for gombeen idiotic FF and FG and labour politics!
I heard a taxi driver on the radio says to ‘underground’ the Luas from Stephens green to O’connell st, muppet. If these projects didn’t cost billions we’d put it all underground, pedestrianize the lot job done.
I thought it was all the taxis fault.
@james s: It is
It beggars belief that they routed the Luas through College Green without considering how the buses and taxis would be accommodated.
Build a road underpass so cars can skip the college green area with one coming out at Merrion square and the other on Westmoreland street. Every European city does this.
What is the journals obsession with the luas?
10km/h. Hmm. This calls for a chalange. Can I cycle faster from one end of green line to other? Sure.
Would it not be as efficient to walk or use Dublin bikes (weather permitting)
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