Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is aware the statistics on the criminal figures are published by the Central Statistics Office, not by my Department. The statistics are based on the accurate work and information available to that office and I learn of them when other people do. The information contained in the last annualised figures published shows a reduction of 8% in crime across the board.

I never minimise crime. The sad reality is that no matter how good the work of An Garda Síochána is, no matter how good are the laws we enact, no matter how carefully the courts hear cases and no matter how many people are sentenced to imprisonment, we will always have bad people. There are always bad people who carry out crime with no thought for the victims whose lives they affect. I will deal in facts, not in alarmist commentary. The facts are there has been a reduction in crime and the figures published by the CSO show this. The reduction has occurred across a broad range of areas.

The Deputy asked why so many people have been arrested under Operation Fiacla and why there has been a reduction in burglaries of 8.9%. The answer to that is this is happening because the Garda is engaged in targeted, smart policing. It is identifying individuals and gangs who are engaged in burglaries. Individuals who may live in one part of the country use our motorway system to travel to other parts of the country to carry out a series of burglaries in an area and then seek to disappear. Through significant connected thinking and a focused and targeted engagement the Garda is identifying people who so engage and is arresting them and bringing them before the courts and succeeding in prosecuting them. This is taking people repetitively engaged in criminal conduct out of society. This targeted policing is working.

I congratulate the Garda Commissioner and those working with him on these targeted operations. These operations are reducing the level of burglaries. Any burglary in any house is to be deplored. Individuals can be deeply affected when their privacy and the security of their home is invaded.

Nevertheless, even if what is stolen is of minor value, the theft creates a terrible feeling of insecurity in people's minds. The Garda is engaged in preventive action. If members examine the statistics for the force produced by the Central Statistics Office, they will find - under the heading of burglary - that there has been an 8.9% reduction. However, the overall reduction in the number of burglaries is actually larger than this. That is because the figure of 8.9% includes the offence of those arrested in possession of materials that can be used to commit a burglary. There is a particular category in this regard, but I do not have the exact figure for it in my possession. Although offences of this nature are categorised in the statistics under the overall heading of burglary, they are actually detected on foot of preventive interventions on the part of members of An Garda Síochána.

In addressing the issue of gangland crime in the past ten days the Garda Commissioner indicated that some 25 gangs were operating within the State. These gangs are being targeted by the Garda. However, it can only bring people before the courts to be prosecuted when it has adequate evidence that they have committed crimes. The targeting has been working. Consider how different Limerick is now in comparison to how it was five years ago. Again, I speak from memory, but I believe there are approximately 100 individuals in the prison system who were formerly engaged in gangland activity in Limerick. Included among these individuals are the leaders of the Limerick gangs. I am not pretending everything is hunky dory. Of course, that is not the case. There are individuals in gangs who are engaged in internecine warfare among themselves. Some appallingly barbaric murders have been committed in the gang warfare that is taking place. The Garda investigates these crimes and bring people before the courts. There are some in these gangs who have no respect for human life and no moral compass.

There was an increase of one in the number of homicides committed in the period to the end of June 2013. That increase was the result of the inclusion under this heading of the offence of dangerous driving causing death, rather than as a result of the type of murder committed in the past. I emphasise that I am not commenting on any recent case, but it must be remembered that not all homicides are committed by those in gangland. Unfortunately, some are committed as a result of domestic issues or rows that take place between individuals who are inebriated and have lost control of themselves.

Crime occurs for a range of reasons. I appeal to Deputy Niall Collins not to exaggerate in the language he uses in order to cause unnecessary alarm. I acknowledge that anyone affected by crime will be distressed, but it must be remembered that there is an extremely low rate of criminality per head of population in this state than is the case in most other EU member states. The Garda deserves praise because its members are doing an extraordinary job with great efficiency and in a very targeted way. Of course, there will be occasions on which those in the force will not get something right. None of us gets everything right all of the time. However, gardaí are doing an extraordinary job and some very bad individuals are serving lengthy sentences in the prison system as a result of their work. Society is better off as a result because the people to whom I refer have been removed from communities and are within the prison system.

In the context of citizenship applications, there is no major backlog. Some 70% of citizenship applications are determined within six months of being made. Some applications can take longer to process because there can be unexpected complications. For example, additional information may need to be sought or other matters may have to be dealt with or considered. When I entered office, it was taking between three and four years for most citizenship applications to be determined. As stated, 70% are now determined within six months. The remainder may take an additional few weeks to process. However, no one's citizenship application is taking two, three or four years to determine, as was the case previously. The Deputy may be intrigued to discover that there is great interest among some of our European Union colleagues in the citizenship ceremonies held here. The ceremonies have proved to be very successful and been welcomed by many people throughout the country. If the Deputy or other members have not had the opportunity to attend one of the ceremonies, I extend an invitation to them to do so in the near future. The ceremonies create a great sense of engagement with Ireland among those who are becoming citizens of it. Because of the fact that it previously took so long to process citizenship applications, many people did not apply. There are still considerable numbers who are seeking to become Irish citizens and we will continue to process their applications in an efficient and careful way. I pay tribute to the citizenship section of my Department which is dealing with the applications in a very appropriate manner.

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