Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputies Finian McGrath and Broughan for raising these matters on the Adjournment. I speak on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who is unable to be present. As we speak, the Minister is attending a conference at Santry Garda station with the Garda Commissioner and other senior officers to discuss the recent murders and related policing and security issues.

I assure the Deputies that the Minister and I consider the recent murders in the area concerned to be of the utmost gravity and the significant resources available to the Garda authorities will be brought to bear in a focused and methodical way to bring to account the persons involved in the crimes to which they referred. Sadly, the recent fatal shootings make it all too clear that a small number of criminals are prepared to take whatever action they deem necessary to protect what they regard as their interests, including resorting to extreme violence and murder. I, too, express my sympathy to the families of the victims of recent terrible murders.

Killings within the criminal fraternity are usually well planned and often, due to their nature, more difficult to resolve. Fewer evidential links may be available to aid Garda investigations and witnesses are often unwilling to co-operate with the Garda. On Monday, the Minister had a meeting with the Garda Commissioner and senior management. The Commissioner set out how he is deploying the significant resources available to him this year to tackle serious crime, including gun crime. He informed the Minister that the Garda Síochána did not fall under any resource constraint in deploying gardaí and equipment to address the challenges arising in the areas of crime and the maintenance of public order. Nevertheless, the Minister reiterated to the Commissioner that any resources required by him would be provided. In the meantime a further conference was arranged to discuss the local aspects of these issues. This conference is in train this evening.

The Commissioner informed the Minister that of the 29 murders that have taken place this year, 13 of which involved the use of a firearm, 20 have already been solved and files have either been sent to the DPP or are being prepared for submission to the DPP. Regarding the other nine murders, investigations are ongoing and steady progress is being made in these investigations.

Since June 1997, it has been a priority of the Government to tackle crime in all its manifestations. Never before in the history of the State has our criminal justice system been better resourced in terms of manpower and funding. The Government has legislated wisely and extensively and will continue to do so. We have undertaken an ambitious reform of the institutions that make up our criminal justice system, including the Garda Síochána and the court and prison systems.

Despite the understandable concern which follows serious incidents such as those mentioned, the headline crime rate has decreased from 29 crimes per 1,000 in 1995 to 24.5 crimes per 1,000 in 2006. Serious crime in the Dublin north division has declined by 7% on the same period last year. These figures notwithstanding, the fight against crime is a never-ending battle. Deputies will be aware that Ireland has a low headline crime rate, including the rate for murder, compared with other western societies and, for this, we owe a debt of gratitude to the Garda Síochána.

The Government's top policing priority for 2006 is to continue to target organised crime, including drug trafficking and the gun culture associated with it. This is being implemented through the deployment of specialist units by the Garda authorities and the use of targeted intelligence led operations to tackle specific criminal activities. Contrary to the comments made by the Deputies, Operation Anvil has proven to be very successful in disrupting the criminal activities of a number of key criminal gangs. It has resulted in a number of high profile arrests and the acquisition of intelligence on the movements of criminals. This year, it has been extended nationwide from the Dublin metropolitan region. A budget of approximately €11 million has been allocated for Operation Anvil during 2006 and the Garda Commissioner was recently advised that an additional €10 million has been made available for further operations to tackle gang related crime.

The most recent figures available to me show that since the introduction of Operation Anvil in May 2005, 527 firearms have been seized. It has also resulted in more than 2,830 arrests for serious crimes, including 43 in respect of murders, and a total of 1,298 individuals have been charged.

With the attestation on 8 June of 273 new members, the personnel strength, all ranks, of the Garda Síochána increased to a record 12,641. This compares with a total strength of 10,702 on 30 June 1997 and represents an increase of 1,939, or 18.1%, in the personnel strength of the force since then. Every three months, 275 newly attested gardaí come on stream and the strength of the force will be 14,000, including attested officers and those in training, by the end of this year. The Garda budget is at a record high of €1.3 billion, an increase of 117% on the 1997 provision of €600 million.

I assure the House that the Government will continue to prioritise the fight against criminals and that the fight will be won.

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