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Wed 02 Feb 2007Garda to get new powers in fight against gangland crimeNew legislation aimed at fighting gangland crime will confer new powers on the Garda, restrict the rights of gangland suspects and provide clarification to the judiciary on the controversial issue of mandatory sentencing for serious crime.Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said he believes the measures represent a proportionate response to the criminal underworld, which posed "the greatest threat to our democracy since the advent of paramilitarism in the 1970s".