Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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We will have to come back to the Deputy on some of those. I do not have details of the number of people who have received a maximum sentence to date but I am sure we can get that information through the courts. In increasing the sentence, I have acknowledged and recognised the severity of assaulting a member of An Garda Síochána or any other emergency worker. While we have increased the maximum penalty, not every person who is charged and found guilty will receive the maximum penalty. However, the threshold is increased, which allows for flexibility and the application of a greater sentence by the judge, if he or she deems that necessary. It will not deter everybody because, while you would have assumed a prison sentence of seven years would deter a lot of people, as we have seen clearly today, the number of assaults has increased. We need to do this in conjunction with other measures. That is why the body-worn cameras are extremely important. If people believe that the evidence will not be there or that they will not be prosecuted, even with a seven-year sentence, they are more likely to commit an assault. However, if they believe that a garda is wearing a body-worn camera that will capture evidence strong enough to potentially put them in prison for 12 years, they will be more likely to change their behaviour.

It is about introducing a number of different measures but it is also about respect for An Garda Síochána. The work community gardaí do is very important in this regard. They engage with our communities, new communities and young people in educational settings. Making sure they are seen as members of the community, part of the community and there to support the community will, in itself, help to bring about change. In recent years, for whatever reason, there has been a shift. The views of some have changed and there has been a lack of respect for An Garda Síochána. We need to do everything we can to reverse that trend. That means engaging with young people at a much earlier age. The Garda is part of that. As I have said, the work community gardaí do in our schools is really important in that regard.

On the overall numbers of people arrested, the types of charges and the percentage in Dublin, which I would expect to be higher, without the figures in front of me as to how many were arrested in previous years, I am afraid I cannot compare but I can certainly come back to the Deputy directly with the overall figures. I apologise; I just do not have them.