Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

When it comes to statistics, I have told the Minister of State and other Ministers before that I do not rely on statistics because it is of great concern that an awful lot of crime is unreported. That is a fact. I did my own check one time and I was frightened by the result I got. Probably more than half of crime is not reported because people do not see the value in reporting it. I would like to send out the message loud and clear, as I know the Minister of State would, that every crime, no matter how minor, should be reported because the gardaí can only work with accurate statistics and they are not accurate if crimes are not being reported. The way we are dealing with this issue and why it is coming before the House is of tremendous importance. When we are dealing with juvenile crime, as with any crime, we are trying to stop it. We are trying to ensure people will be safe and happy in their homes. We see it in the courts every day. Small juvenile crime grows and escalates and young people come into a life of crime. The perpetrators of juvenile crime go on to become adults engaging in worse and more heinous crimes. We have to be accurate about what we are doing. We have to deal with the statistics properly and try to put the resources in to stop further crime being committed and to try to ensure people will be safe. We should have zero tolerance. I always refer to an instance where our late mother was mugged in Spain. It happened on a Sunday and on Wednesday she was taken into a court where a man got 12 months in jail for stealing her handbag. The message from the judge was he would not tolerate that type of nonsense especially against an elderly person. That was the message over there. Why should we not have it here?

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