Violent crime is the biggest challenge facing Ireland's freedom, and the full force of the State must be brought to bear to free our society of gangs and to end the spate of gun murders, the new leader of the Labour Party, Eamon Gilmore, said last night.
In his first major speech since he was declared Labour leader last week, Mr Gilmore said "denial of freedom" in today's Ireland comes not from an oppressive state, a foreign invader or a conservative social order, but from murders and manslaughters.
In James Connolly's time freedom was, in part, about winning national independence, said Mr Gilmore. "But, as Connolly predicted, freeing the country alone would not be enough. Our people too would need to be free. The fight for freedom now is the fight against violent crime."
Addressing the first of five party hustings as part of the deputy leadership contest, Mr Gilmore said that in the 12 months to last June there were 68 murders and manslaughters, while in the last year there were nearly 4,000 assaults and more than 500 incidents of harassment and endangerment.
Mr Gilmore said: "Who denied Donna Cleary her freedom? A young mother who went to a party, and died, calling for her baby, on the kitchen floor. Who denied Anthony Campbell his freedom? A young man, learning a trade, who went to work one morning, shot in cold blood because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
He asked if there was any freedom for an elderly man or woman who locks and chains and bolts the front door because they are afraid to go outside. He cited those children who do not play on the road because of fear and women who do not feel safe walking the streets at night.
"Until we can walk on the streets, until we can have quiet enjoyment of our homes, until our neighbourhoods are safe havens for our children, until we can enjoy the company of our friends and return home safely, we are not free.
"As Nelson Mandela said, to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." Mr Gilmore said Labour's core value of freedom requires it as a party to have a clear view and strategy on violent crime, and what it is doing to our society. It was not enough to deal with crime when it has happened, but rather to prevent it, and that means addressing the causes, such as alcohol abuse.
Meanwhile, the two contenders for the deputy leadership of the party, Limerick East TD Jan O'Sullivan and Dublin West TD Joan Burton, last night addressed the first of the five hustings planned between now and the close of poll on October 4th.
Ms O'Sullivan told last night's meeting at the Westbury Hotel in Dublin that the deputy leader should be a conduit of communication within the organisation and someone who establishes and maintains an ongoing relationship with each constituency organisation and each public representative, at local and national level.
She said a specific party officer should be assigned in head office to work with the deputy leader on this task. The deputy leader requires a mix of skills - someone who is approachable, who listens and who is not afraid of hard graft, but also someone who is courageous enough to tackle the hard decisions, she added.
Ms Burton said the Government should call a national education convention to deal with the issue of primary schools, including looking at the crippling cost of land for schools, the relationship of State and church in the management and patronage of primary schools, and the consequences of mass immigration, the diversity of faiths, languages and cultures within a school.
She said "policy renewal" has to be at the front, centre and back of Labour's renewal. Ms Burton added that the party has to concentrate on transferring support for its policies into votes for its candidates.