Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to share time with Deputy Eugene Murphy. The vast majority of people in this country are law-abiding, but unfortunately those responsible for gangland and serious crime against the State and its people just do not care about our legislation, never mind our Legislature, and they have scant or no regard for citizens. It is a known fact that when certain criminals are behind bars, the rate of crime drops, in many cases by in excess of 50%.

The issues evident in the north inner city are the same as those in north County Louth. It is the same in Clondalkin as it is in Dundalk. Crime knows no bounds and neither do the criminals. All crimes of violence are despicable and must be condemned, and it is our responsibility in this House to work with our communities and Garda to try to minimise the impact of crime. The constituency of Louth, which I represent, has had enough of this crime against our people and the State. The loss of Garda Sergeant Morrissey in Tallanstown, the slaying of Garda Adrian Donohoe at Lordship and the murder of Garda Tony Golden in Omeath is testament to the bravery of the Garda Síochána, whose members try to uphold the law every day in our communities. That said, those who perpetrate these crimes clearly could not care less about life or limb.

The people I represent want to see and have a greater beat on the street, as it were. I welcome what appears to be a commitment from all sides to an increase Garda numbers to 15,000 and the doubling of the Garda Reserve to 2,500. Garda presence is only one part of the solution and community organisations such as community alert, neighbourhood watch, the joint policing committees and the drugs task forces will together enhance community safety strategies, and they must be resourced to be the eyes and ears of law-abiding communities. I would especially like to see a countrywide text alert system supported by the Garda and rolled out with community safety strategies, such as those that have been adopted and are operational in places like Ballymun and Louth. They should also be better resourced.

All the words of this House without an action plan will not bring one sigh of relief to the many families, the vulnerable and isolated and the business owners who continue to fear in their homes, businesses and farmsteads that they are still an easy target for these crime vultures. Like many Deputies I have canvassed in many local authority elections and I traversed County Louth in 2011 and in more recent elections. I witnessed especially a sense of insecurity in the increased number of what are commonly known in my area as the "feck off" security gates on single houses and the frequently chained and locked farm gates. I also saw many people reluctantly peering from behind closed curtains to check before venturing to open their door to me. Surely that is not a welcome Ireland that people want.

The recent provision of 27 extra gardaí for Louth and the emergency response unit checkpoints for the Border region are welcome, of course, but they come against a backdrop of a reduction in Garda numbers in the Louth division by 12%. It is worth noting that the Central Statistics Office figures in the Dundalk Garda district indicate that just 27.5% of all robberies, burglaries and thefts were solved in 2015. In the Ardee area, the rate was 22% and in Drogheda it was 24%. The national rate was 30%, leading to a deeply concerned public. Naturally, the fact that the numbers of sexual offences recorded has risen by 15% is acutely disturbing. The threats of murder, assaults and harassment are up by 11.8%. Kidnapping is up by 25%, while recorded fraud is up by 8%. These are truly worrying statistics that demand immediate attention and efficient solutions. The surge in such crime levels must be tackled by all in this House.

In Fianna Fáil we have committed to increasing the Garda force to 15,000 and providing the technology and Garda fleet that is required. We also want to enact the necessary legislation to protect our communities, together with mandatory minimum sentences and tougher sentences for burglars. I hope this and other laws enacted by the House will be a clear message to those who want to live on the backs of others. We will not give them a place to hide behind the legal system or a phoney take on civil rights over the rights of our law-abiding citizens who wish to feel safe in their communities.

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