Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

The people will not be reassured by the Tánaiste's response. He seems to be in denial that we have a huge problem with crime. Does he not accept that headline crime, serious crime generally, recognising the Garda statistics has increased my more than 40% since 2000? Does the Tánaiste not recognise that even the recent CSO statistics clearly show that by comparison with his first full year in office, 2003, violent crime in the past 12 months has seriously escalated and is now virtually out of control? Does he not accept that over the period to which I refer, murders have increased by 25%, rapes have increased by 33% and firearms offences have increased by 43%? Does he not agree that these figures are of concern and that unless they are accepted as being such there is no hope of confronting them? The Tánaiste's main problem is that he is in denial of the extent of the problem.

Does the Tánaiste know about a study recently carried out in Dublin, as reported in today's Irish Independent, which indicates that three quarters of the people in Dublin live in fear of being assaulted? The study found that 88% of females are scared to walk in their own areas at night for fear of being attacked.

The Tánaiste has trotted out his figures for members of the Garda Síochána. Would he not accept that pompously parading like a peacock in Templemore, pretending that newly recruited student gardaí are out on the beat is not the answer to this problem? Would he not accept that four and a half years ago he stated in his party's manifesto — I presume it was drafted by him at the time — that his party would increase the strength of the Garda Síochána by 2,000 members? In the same election campaign, the Fianna Fáil manifesto stated that the planned strength for 2002 of 12,000 would be reached and if elected to serve in Government, Fianna Fáil would expand the Garda Síochána by a further 2,000. That was four and a half years ago and we have still not reached 13,000. We do not have even half the promised increase. The Tánaiste talking about what he said in 2004 is not the issue.

Does he not recognise that the people are paying the price for the absolute neglect of the Government? I do not blame the Minister alone. He told me in 2004 that he could not get the money to put the extra recruitment in place at the time. The then Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, was holding on to the purse strings. All the members of Government are in the one boat; they are all responsible. This was a Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats commitment and it has not been delivered. Does the Minister accept that, in the meantime, the people have been paying the price? Nowhere is safe now. People walk the streets in fear. They do not feel safe in their own homes. A five-year-old child standing outside his grandmother's house is not safe from the depths of depravity to which the criminals in this country have sunk and which they are being let get away with by the Government.

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