Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

Of course, I regard crime as serious. However, the phrases used in the questions to which I was replying, that there had been a dramatic increase and that crime was spiralling, are simply not true. Since 2000, the numbers have gone down both in absolute and relative terms. They are significantly down per head of population. I simply made that point.

My second point relates to responses to crime. The number of gardaí has risen dramatically. The Deputies opposite will probably not want to remember that when they were last in office, they allowed the numbers of gardaí to fall. Since the two parties now in Government came into office, there has been a significant increase in the number of gardaí. Numbers have reached 12,200 as planned and will increase to 14,000, in training or fully qualified, by the end of 2006. It is not a matter of promises being made-——

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