Mr. Pat Leahy:

I think everyone is being careful in what they can say about the planning cycle associated with Brexit at the moment. We are being mature about what is required in this context. We are all waiting with bated breath to see where this takes us. We are not sitting back and doing nothing. Of course we are planning. As Mr. Todd said earlier, the relationship between the Garda and the PSNI is very different now from what it was some years ago. We have worked together on cross-Border operations. It is seamless and it remains seamless. We are in a very different place now compared to the past. That is for sure. Of course we are preparing for Brexit.

I would like to raise the issue of rural crime. I do not want people in rural communities to think they are more exposed than others to crime. The facts are very different. One is far more likely to be the subject of a burglary in an urban setting than in a rural setting. The difference is quite large. We focus on burglary because it is so intrusive and has such an emotional effect on people. The rate of burglary in Dublin is approximately 11.6 per 100,000 households. That figure is between 3.9 and 8.5 in more rural areas. The difference is significant. I do not want rural dwellers to be sitting back in fear of crime to a greater extent than they should be. While I do not want to underestimate the effect that crime has on people, we need to be straight when we are discussing crime.