THE Taoiseach told deputies that every area of the criminal justice system "is being modernised with vigour and determination".

Yesterday's debate was about a lot more than passing six tough anti crime Bills in one day. "It is the culmination of the most concentrated month's work on one topic crime by all arms of government in recent times."

The result would be 600 more gardai on the streets, more prison places, more judges, criminals no longer able to stash away the proceeds of their crime for the rainy day, mobilising the best brains from the public, the private sector and abroad to modernise our police force, and allowing the people to decide through a referendum on whether they wanted to restrict the right to bail.

Mr Bruton called for honesty in the political debate. "Better law enforcement costs money. Every new law requires new staff to implement it. That means less money for tax cuts. Where there is a priority there also has to be something else that has to take second place."

On prisons, he said a task force under Minister of State Mr Hugh Coveney was looking at ways of speeding up the building programme. The latest information was that 68 additional places would be available in the Curragh in September 25 in Castlerea and 55 in Limerick in October 125 would be available in Castlerea in December next year 50 in Mountjoy Women's Prison in October 1998, and 400 places at Wheatfield by the end of 1988.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, said she would be setting up an advisory group to advise her on criminal law and procedure. She had decided there should be regular Criminal Justice Bills to facilitate the speedy introduction of measures which the Garda, legal practitioners and others involved in the law and order system considered necessary to do their jobs effectively.

She had agreed to a proposal from the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, to locate a Garda liaison officer in Madrid and another in The Hague as part of the ongoing battle against drugs.

Additional resources would be provided to the forensic science laboratory to enable it to develop DNA testing. DNA profiling formed a vital part of the investigation of crimes of violence in 1995, with 53 cases being dealt with by the laboratory.

The Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill made "a sizeable contribution to the fight against crime, not least because a central part of its intention is to reduce the time spent by gardai in courts and, as a consequence, make more Garda resources available for duty on the streets".

With the other measures yesterday, it was part of the most comprehensive set of instruments ever introduced by Government within a short period of time to tackle crime. They complemented the very extensive range of anti-crime measures put through since she became Minister.

The Fianna Fail spokesman on just ice, Mr John O'Donoghue, said the reality was that the Government did not have a crime policy or an anti-crime strategy.

"What it has is a stampeded mess which it seeks to pass off as concerted action. Let us not forget that when this Government belatedly realised that action was needed on crime, its preferred option was the establishment of a committee."

The Labour Party had voted against a constitutional referendum on bail and against making bails men financially responsible for the conduct of accused persons. It was also against curfew orders, it opposed a 10 year minimum sentence on drug dealers and it repeatedly wanted a policy of in action.

The Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill would not reduce delays in the courts, Mr O'Donoghue said. Delays would continue because of the lack of back up staff.

After 18 months of inactivity, the Minister presented herself as "a political whirlwind", but when the dust settled, the same cumbersome court procedures would still be in place with the same delaying effect. The Bill could have been used as a mechanism to introduce meaningful reforms.

Instead, it was a "non-Bill", a collection of inconsequential amendments dressed up "to satisfy the Minister's quest for publicity.

The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, said the momentum created by the impending enactment of asset seizure legislation needed to be maintained. "We have to show criminals that we are serious about reform and we have to send out a strong message.

He outlined a series of measures that should be taken in the immediate future.

They included a reform of the criminal law to guarantee trials within 90 days of arrest, a constitutional referendum to permit accused persons to be remanded in custody if they were likely to commit further offences while on bail, a witness protection programme, a 10 year minimum sentence for people caught in possession of controlled drugs with a street value of £10,000 or more, criminal court sittings throughout the year, modification of the right to silence so that inferences could be drawn from a refusal to answer questions and the setting up of a commission on crime.

Regarding the Seizure of Assets Bill, he hoped the public would provide the gardai with the information necessary to turn drugs barons "out of their estates and mansions". That would be a first step but much more remained to be done if the criminal justice system was to be reformed.

The Progressive Democrats spokeswoman on justice, Ms Liz O'Donnell, said none of the Bills before the House would have been presented were it not for the message sent to the Oireachtras by the murder of Veronica Guerin, but she was not even buried before there was the predictable bleating of those who resisted change and forecast the wrecking of traditional civil liberties.

There were those who argued that there was no escalation in crime and claimed that the legislation was a "knee jerk reaction".

She challenged that. She also challenged those who said they must look to the root causes of crime and tackle poverty, social deprivation and alienation before changing the criminal justice system. "The two concepts need not be mutually exclusive. One must not be postponed for the other," she said.

She welcomed the Bills before the House, but she said they were an exercise "in frantic legislative housekeeping" by a Government on the run from the people.

The prison system had failed and was lacking in any strategic direction. Two out of every three prisoners were repeat offenders. There were more prison officers than prisoners and 40 per cent of the prison wage bill was accounted for by overtime.

The system failed both to deter and to rehabilitate. Society need not be "imprisoned by a failed system".

People were tired of routine condemnation of increasing crime levels. They were tired of a creaking criminal justice system that did not serve them, was out of date and riddled with inefficiencies and contradictions.

"They are bamboozled by the arguments on the side of civil liberties and, at the same time, the compelling logic of a need to have a system of justice which quite simply works."