Dáil debates

Thursday, 27 April 2006

3:00 pm

Photo of Michael McDowellMichael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

——when they were in office. It is fascinating that every time we discuss the record of the parties opposite, they start shouting.

I remind the Deputies that when they were in office the numbers of gardaí in the force declined, whereas while I have been in office and while the two parties have been in office, the numbers of gardaí have dramatically increased. The size of the Garda Síochána budget has gone up from approximately €590 million to €1.3 billion in the lifetime of the Government of these two parties and during my stewardship it has gone up by39%. The Garda Síochána has never been better resourced and never been better equipped. It is achieving results which are very good in general terms. The crime rate per 100,000 of the population is down. The number of murders, compared with when Deputy Howlin was at the Cabinet table, is down per 100,000 of the population. Compared with Glasgow, Ireland has a crime rate and a murder rate which is significantly less——

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