The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, defended his zero tolerance policy as he closed the debate on the Europol Bill, which will create a facility for EU police to exchange information to combat serious international organised crime.
He was tired of listening to criticism of the concept of zero tolerance. Zero tolerance was about effective law enforcement, he said.
"It is not and never was about changing the sanctions which should apply in relation to beggars, buskers, double-yellow-line-parked drivers, errant cyclists. It is about enforcing the law of the land as it stands, but where additional sanctions are required then they will be formulated and enforced."
Mr O'Donoghue said he wanted "to nail the misconception as well that laws being brought forward in this country to deal with a very serious, malicious and dangerous drug problem represent the be-all and end-all of the concept of zero tolerance."
On the Europol Bill Ms Liz McManus (DL, Wicklow) pointed out that there was no specific reference to child abduction in the range of crimes covered by Europol.
"This is a trans-boundary crime with which we in this country are not unfamiliar," she said. "While I accept that the Hague Convention carries certain protection in relation to child kidnapping, it is hard to justify the exclusion of this distressing and damaging crime."
Ms Roisin Shortall (Lab, Dublin North-West) pointed out that Ireland's drug problem was not different from that of Denmark or any other European country, and the Europol convention and legislation were "a reasonable start to a Europe-wide campaign against organised crime."
Ms Shortall criticised the Minister's zero tolerance policy as "election slogans". It faced its first challenge with the Ansbacher accounts, with the existence of a £38 million slush fund.
"All the indications were that this was a major tax scam," she said. The Government had the opportunity to agree terms of reference to include the Ansbacher accounts in the Moriarty tribunal, but had not done so.
The notion of zero tolerance "is absolutely and utterly dead."
However Ms Mary Hanafin (FF, Dun Laoghaire) defended the Minister and reiterated that the policy was to "encourage a policy of zero tolerance." This would reflect the principles that no crime was insignificant, that tolerance of small crimes created a climate in which big crimes flourished, and that tolerance of lesser crimes or violations sent the wrong signal to the average law-abiding citizen that the gardai and the Government were ineffective.
She added that many of those who criticised the policy had not bothered to read it, let alone propose a viable alternative. "The greatest critics of `zero tolerance' are the advocates of `Nero tolerance', those who would fiddle while Rome burns."
The Bill passed the Second Stage.