Charles Flanagan TD
Charlie Flanagan is the Fine Gael Spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
Born and raised in Mountmellick, he now lives in Portlaoise, with his wife Mary and two daughters.
He is an experienced and able politician, having actively represented the people of Laois/Offaly in Dáil Éireann for many years. Charlie is a very active parliamentarian having introduced a range of private members bills and motions, some of which are listed below.
Charlie represents a large constituency with a number of rapidly growing towns and a significant rural hinterland. He is a strong advocate of sustainable development and the need to develop infrastructure such as schools and transport links in tandem with new housing projects in order to develop and maintain thriving communities. He is committed to promoting locally grown Irish produce and strengthening the agri-food sector.
His 2010 justice priorities include introducing initiatives in the following are:
• Antisocial Behaviour & Knife Crime
• Gangland crime
• Tiger Kidnapping
• White Collar Crime
• Prison Reform
Having served as Opposition Chief Whip in two Dails he is an expert in the formal rules and precedent governing practice and procedure of parliament.
A sample of Charlie’s Dáil initiatives in the Justice Area:
Private Members Bills:
Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland (Protection of Debtors) Bill 2009: This Bill proposes to amend the Central Bank Act 1942; to provide for the issuing of licenses to conduct debt collection activities; to provide that the undue harassment of debtors or the making of false representations to debtors shall be a criminal offence and to provide for connected matters.
Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill 2009: This Bill seeks to establish a presumption that force used against an intruder is reasonable, to relieve householders of any civil liability to an intruder, to amend the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 and to provide for related matters.
Criminal Justice (Public Order) (Amendment) Bill 2009: The purpose of this Bill is to extend the protection given by the Criminal Justice Act 2006 which created new offences of assaulting or obstructing emergency service personnel, such as fire brigade personnel and ambulance crews, engaged in providing emergency services. It also covers those working in accident and emergency departments of hospitals to people who are employed in providing public transport services to the general public, such as bus drivers and taxi drivers.
Criminal Justice (Violent Crime Prevention) Bill 2008: The purpose of this Bill is to address violent crime and gangland activity by providing more severe penalties for violent crime and provide a system whereby the daily activities of people suspected to be members of criminal organisation can be restricted and regularised by the courts. The Bill provides that any failure to comply with these requirements or prohibitions is itself a criminal offence and will allow the Gardaí´ to arrest any such person. Every support should be given to the Gardaí in the fight against this most serious threat to public safety and order and this Bill will further enhance the ability of the Gardaí to deal with organised gangs and violent crime and crime in an effective way.
Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2008: The Bill extends the parties covered by the protection of the Act to better reflect the reality of Irish domestic arrangements and provide more serious consequences for the breach of any order made by a court for the protection of people under the Domestic Violence Act 1996.
Civil Liability (Amendment) Bill 2008: The Bill proposes to amend the Civil Liability Act of 1961 so as to remove the limitation that is recoverable for mental distress in relation to fatal injury claims. The amount, which excludes loss of financial support and funeral expenses, is limited to €25,394.76 which falls to be divided among all the statutory dependents of the deceased (which includes a spouse or divorced spouse, cohabiting partner, parent, grand-parent, step-parent, child, grandchild, sibling or half-sibling of the deceased).
Victims’ Rights Bill 2008: The purpose of the Bill is to make provision for the treatment of and rights of victims of criminal offences and anti-social behaviour and of their immediate family.
Dáil Private Members’ Motions:
January 2010: Motion on Gangland Crime: noting the fact that 5 gangland gun murders have taken place in the first 3 weeks of 2010; the fact that criminal gangs are gaining a greater foothold in communities throughout the State; the drug abuse afflicting communities throughout the State; the involvement of criminal gangs in people trafficking and prostitution; the fact that a large number of vacanices have emerged in the senior ranks of An Garda Síochána but replacements are not being appointed; the fact that Community Gardaí make up only 6% of the Force; the pathetically low conviction rate for gangland gun murders; the absence of any convictions to date under anti-gangland legislation introduced in 2009; that in situations where gangsters are incarcerated they continue to direct their operations from within our prisons through use of mobile phones; the wholly inadequate measures in place at ports, airports and along the coastline to prevent massive quantities of illegal drugs from flowing into the jurisdiciton; the consequent fear and anxiety of communities where gangland violence is commonplace and the havoc that drugs are wrecking on our communities; and calls on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to: immediately fill senior Garda vacancies; introduce a mandatory minimum life sentence of 25 years for gangland gun murders; introduce measures in prisons such as full body scanners for visitors to prevent gangsters from operating from within prisons; increase Community policing by implementing FG’s policies on quotas and incentives and calls on the Minister for Finance to significantly enhance the Customs presence at ports and airports, and in particular at small and private airports.
January 2010: Motion on Elderly People and Crime: noting CSO figures showing a 51% increase in aggravated burglaries in the three months to the end of September 2009 accompanied by a 25% increase in non-aggravated burglaries in the same period; recent widely reported targeting of vulnerable elderly residents in their own homes including a numerous of incidents in which vulnerable home-owners were viciously assaulted; the dramatic cutback in funding of the Scheme of Community Support for Older People in 2009; the fact that only 6% of the Garda force is made up of Community Gardaí; the continual downgrading & closure of rural Garda stations and calling on the Minister for Justice to arrest the decline of policing services to rural communities; bring forward measures and incentives to facilitate a significant increase in the number of community Gardaí; enhance and develop the Garda Community Safety Week initiative and calls on the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to reverse the cutback in funding for the Scheme of Community Support for Older People.
October 2009: Motion on the Enforcement of Court Orders: noting the 2,520 people imprisoned in 2008 for non-payment of court-ordered fines, the 276 imprisoned for debt related offences in the same period, the 9,616 people receiving mortgage interest supplement in 2008 & calling on the Minister for Justice to introduce Attachment for Earnings Orders for fine and debt defaulters as an alternative to prison and accept the recommendations of the Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC) in relation to personal debt in Irish society.
