James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I am not suggesting that what happened in these cases is right but it is a reflection of the frustration and vulnerability that people, particularly those who live in isolated areas, feel. There was a rash of crimes of this nature 20 years ago. They stopped when an elderly farmer fired a shotgun out of an upstairs window. We do not want to see such situations arise again. We want community policing. Unreported crimes are skewing the picture and providing figures that are artificially low.

The next issue to which I wish to refer is prevention, to which there are a few aspects. Prevention must be considered in the context of the social services and outlets we provide for young people. Some of the other aspects that arise in this context are the availability of drugs, particularly among members of the middle class; the toleration of such drugs by the Government; the availability of alcohol to under age drinkers; and the disastrous combination of drugs and alcohol and the effect it can have on people's behaviour.

We need to use the education system to reinforce socially acceptable behaviour. There is also the issue of parental responsibility. Parents should know the whereabouts of their 14, 15 and 16 year olds between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Lack of parental supervision lies at the heart of a great deal of anti-social behaviour. I refer, in particular, to that perpetrated by large gangs of young people engaged in illegal drinking on large open spaces in our cities, towns and villages.

Another aspect of prevention is the need to have policemen on the beat. In that context, I refer to community gardaí who know everybody, whom everybody knows and, more important, who know everyone's parents. I am talking about the sort of gardaí to whom people used to go when they were in trouble. Such officers were not perceived as a threat, people saw them as friends.

The level of resources in place in respect of crime detection is insufficient. Recent statistics illustrate that the incidence of serious crimes such as homicide, rape and armed robbery has risen but that the detection rates relating to them has fallen. The Minister needs to address this issue. He should not do what the HSE and the Ministers for Health and Children and Education and Science do, namely, try to state that all is well when that is clearly not the case. We should be mature and tackle the issue head on.

On rehabilitation, the custodial care system must afford to people more opportunities to change and to be educated or re-educated. There are other areas in respect of which I wish to comment but I do not have time to do so. However, I wish to offer my deepest sympathies to the families of Pawel Kalite and Marius Szwajkos. We owe it to their memory and to their families to ensure that their deaths, in much the same way that Veronica Guerin's did, act as a watershed. We must put in place systems that will reduce the likelihood of crimes of this nature occurring in the future.

I commend the motion to the House.

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