Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

In the programme for Government, the Taoiseach stated it was intended to create a society where all people could feel safe in their communities, businesses and homes. While last weekend's weather was bad, it was even worse for crime on the streets. An innocent young woman, Babia Saulite, was assassinated on her doorstep, two young girls were sexually assaulted in Dublin and an elderly priest was savagely beaten with a slash hook or some other bladed instrument. I wonder what the two Hassan boys would think of those words from the programme for Government if they were able to read?

In the Government's ten years, parts of Dublin and other cities have become a 21st century dodge city. In some locations it has not gone from bad to worse but to the dogs. This is not just the case with organised crime but with murder, rape, beatings and stabbings, all now part of everyday life in cities and rural areas. The murder rate is up by 25%, rape cases by 33% and gun crime by 44%. It is correct that the budget for justice has doubled in the past ten years, but crime rates are soaring and detection rates are falling. The human traffickers caught in Cork yesterday will see from the statistics that no serious crime boss has been jailed in the past five years. It is perfectly obvious from the statements of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who referred to the murder of the unfortunate Donna Cleary as the sting of a dying wasp that he knows as much about the life cycle of a wasp as he does about the knee-height of a grasshopper.

What is the Government's response to this deplorable situation? What will it do about it? When will we see the 500 extra gardaí and officers out on the streets? When will Garda stations be properly equipped and resourced so that the response time is more immediate and the detection rate more effective? When will hardened criminals be put away for a long time? When will the law get its priorities right and defend and protect home owners in their homes?

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