Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform regrets that due to other business he is unable to be present to take this matter. However, I assure the Deputy that the Minister shares his concern with regard to crime in the Inishowen area and is conscious of the distress caused by being the victim of burglary.

The Minister is informed by the Garda authorities that local Garda management is aware of an increase in the number of incidents in the Buncrana Garda district to which the Deputy refers. These incidents are under active investigation by An Garda Síochána. Local Garda management has put in place a series of measures to prevent and reduce the frequency of such incidents and detect the perpetrators. Additional patrols by uniform and plain clothes personnel have been put in place in the areas concerned and resources have been redeployed to assist in the identification of the suspected perpetrators of these offences. Senior Garda management will be meeting representatives of local communities to inform them of ongoing efforts and initiatives to target this type of criminality and to urge them to report any suspicious activity occurring in the area to An Garda Síochána. Crime prevention advice will also be provided through the local media.

There are significant levels of ongoing cross-Border co-operation with the Police Service of Northern Ireland to identify crime trends and suspected offenders. Border superintendents, including those from County Donegal, attend bimonthly crime meetings. At local level, cross-Border crime meetings are held monthly, with regular contact taking place in respect of individual incidents and criminal activity in general.

The Minister is further informed that a Garda divisional crime manager has been appointed to assist in the monitoring and analysis of crime trends in order to prepare further specific initiatives and operations to target the specific crime types. The personnel strength of the Buncrana Garda district on 19 February 2009, the most recent date for which figures are available, was 90. This follows the allocation of significant numbers of additional personnel to the district in recent times. It is the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner to allocate personnel throughout the force while taking all relevant matters into account. The situation in the Inishowen area and the Buncrana Garda district will be kept under review. Additional civilian support staff have also been assigned to the district. This has released members of An Garda Síochána for patrolling and other duties.

The Minister and the Garda Commissioner are aware of the needs of areas such as Inishowen. On 26 January they launched a new national model of community policing. This model builds on the success of existing good community policing practice within Ireland and aims to foster collaborative partnerships between An Garda Síochána and members of the community. A comprehensive model of community policing ensures that enforcement will be employed not only to reduce crime, but also to reduce the fear of crime and ensure a better quality of community life for all. In particular, a new rural community policing initiative for the Inishowen peninsula was recently established.

Joint policing committees provide a forum where An Garda Síochána and local authorities — the two organisations that make the most significant contribution to preventing and tackling crime in specific areas — can come together, with the participation of Members of the Oireachtas and community and voluntary interests, on matters affecting an area. A committee has a range of functions and monitors two broad areas. The first of these relates to the levels and patterns of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour in an area. The second relates to the broader issue of the factors underlying and contributing to crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. A committee will subsequently advise the relevant local authority and An Garda Síochána on how they might best perform their functions, while having regard to the need to do everything feasible to improve the safety and quality of life and to prevent crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour within an area. Following a pilot phase in 29 local authority areas, including Letterkenny, the committees are currently being rolled out to all other local authority areas.

The Minister is of the view that the committees have enormous potential in the context of tackling the problems of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. He wishes to assure the Deputy that he and the Garda authorities are committed to providing resources to tackle crime in Inishowen and elsewhere.

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