Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Halligan for tabling this Bill. I will focus my remarks on the crime of burglary, which is particularly difficult for people. As gardaí who have responded to burglaries point out, the repercussions extend beyond the property that is stolen to emotional impacts that can last a very long time. Sometimes people never again feel safe in their homes. It is a civil right to feel safe in one's own home. I recently received an e-mail from an individual who wrote that she and her husband put every penny together to make a deposit on their house in 2007. They now have one child and another is on the way. Their house and the neighbouring house have been burgled and a car parked across the road was broken into. I know of housing estates in north County Kildare where practically every house has been burgled. The victims are often working to put every penny together to pay their mortgages. At the very least they should be able to feel safe in their own homes.

Restorative justice should not be used to mitigate responsibility but it could add to the consequences. It can be appropriate in the case of low level crimes, including in particular youth anti-social behaviour and vandalism. However, it requires an investment in police and community time. The victim rather than the offender should have the choice in deciding whether to permit reparations and the payment of reparations should not be allowed to diminish the legal process. Depending on the crime, some victims may wish to see the offender face prison.

Burglary is a difficult crime to solve. The ratio of Garda resources around the country is unbalanced. With the exception of Dublin and Limerick, there is a weak connection between recorded crime statistics and the level of service available. Divisions in Kildare and Meath fare worst, with 661 people per garda in Kildare and 628 in Meath. These figures compare badly Sligo and Leitrim, with 317 people per garda. Detection rates of selected common crimes reveal a similar or significantly worse level of criminality in Kildare compared to other divisions. Kildare had the fourth highest rate for detected burglaries in 2012, as well as the fifth highest rate for robbery, extortion and hijacking offences. There is a direct relationship between these rates and the allocation of resources. The seven Deputies from County Kildare sought to meet the Garda Commissioner on this issue. We met with an assistant commissioner who told us that resources are organised on the "what you have you hold" principle. The policing plans laid before this House every year purport to take into consideration demographics, crime statistics and available personnel but they do no such thing. Even in respect of diversion programmes for young people, which are significantly less expensive than locking people up, Kildare has two Garda youth units for 210,000 people. Tipperary has four units for 158,000 people and Kerry has six units for 145,000 people. Kildare has a disproportionately young population. I do not argue for reductions in Tipperary and Kerry but resources in Kildare need to increase if we are to divert people from crime.

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