Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The answer to the Deputy's question is that these are not projects which will slip back months and years. For example, the project at Kevin Street is being built a cost of €33.539 million. While there have been various problems with it, the projected completion date is now the second quarter of 2017. It is estimated that the project might slip by six or seven weeks, but it will be completed in 2017. In Galway, the project cost is €31.181 million and there have been some weather-related delays there. There was some underestimation of the complexities of the concrete elements of the structure by the contractor and there was a staffing issue for a vital subcontractor. Those are the reasons for some of the delay. However, the projected completion date, which was September 2017, is now the fourth quarter of 2017. The projects are going ahead and there are very practical reasons for any underspend, as I have outlined. The projects will be completed in 2017.

Deputy Farrell is right to say the position regarding aircraft needs to be reviewed. My understanding is that a new aircraft will be needed by about 2020. That is one of the matters the Department will be discussing in the context of the mid-term capital review next year. Obviously, we want to ensure that appropriate and safe aircraft are available. That will be up for discussion in the first instance in the review of the capital programme.

The budget for uniforms, including for the armed response unit, includes equipment. That is an operational decision. I have responded positively to any requests I have had specifically for equipment for the armed response unit.

I thank the Deputy for his comments on burglary reductions. People will confirm that it is the situation albeit I always note that if one is the person who is burgled, it is one burglary too many. That is why we have to be vigilant. Clearly, targeted operations, like Operation Hybrid or Operation Thor, work. We also saw with the targeted operation on sham marriages that the incidence of those decreased completely. When we put Border operations in, in particular under the new North-South task force, on which the report was presented to me just two weeks ago, we saw really good success. There was a targeted operation in the Border area on rural crime and there was good success in terms of finding machinery and bringing people before the courts in the North and the South. While there are issues in relation to what gets reported, notwithstanding that and notwithstanding either the issues identified by the CSO on which it is still working, there has been a huge success in preventing crime, interrupting burglaries and protecting the public.