Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, who regrets that she cannot be present as she is attending an extraordinary meeting of European Union justice and home affairs Ministers to discuss the very serious migration crisis. The Minister is, however, grateful to the Deputies for raising these important matters in the House.

The Minister recognises that burglary is a persistent and highly damaging crime, particularly in highly distressing cases in which householders are assaulted by the criminals involved. Several such cases were mentioned by Deputy Niall Collins. The Minister is also conscious of the serious impact of these crimes on families and communities and recognises public concern about crime in Littleton and Thurles, County Tipperary, and elsewhere.

The Minister is in close contact with the Garda Commissioner to ensure the policing response is effective and Garda operations take account of evolving trends and patterns in burglary offences in both rural and urban areas. Earlier this year, the Minister initiated a broad and urgent review of the criminal justice system's response to the problem of burglaries. This included a focus on inter-agency measures for the management of prolific offenders, visible policing, crime prevention support for communities and an examination of legislative issues. One important fact which emerged during this review was the finding of the Garda Síochána analysis service that 75% of burglaries are committed by 25% of burglars. Targeting this cohort of repeat offenders has the potential to significantly reduce the number of burglaries being committed.

In response, the Minister recently published the Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Bill 2015. This legislation targets repeat burglary offenders through bail measures and provisions concerning the imposition of consecutive sentencing for repeat burglary offending. The key objective of this legislation is to target a cohort of persistent offenders who prey on law-abiding householders and clearly have no concern for the damage and distress that they inflict on others. It is hoped to have this new legislation enacted as soon as possible.

A newspaper opinion piece published in The Sunday Timeson 20 September reflected on the effects of burglaries in rural communities and concluded that the Minister's new Bill would be a lever for change which would have the effect of "...obliging the criminal justice system to lock up violent, repeat criminals, while dealing more humanely with non-violent offenders - it should be welcomed as a progressive measure. And rural Ireland will be a safer place on winter nights."

In recent times, Garda strategy to counter burglaries and related crimes has been co-ordinated under Operation Fiacla, which is a national operation targeting burglary by using an intelligence and analysis led approach. In support of Operation Fiacla, there are burglary-related operations in place in each Garda division.

Special targeted patrols have been implemented with the assistance of Garda national support services against criminal groups. These arrangements have also targeted the use of motorways by criminal gangs and have contributed to the arrest of a number of high-priority suspects.

The sustained Garda response to criminal activity under Operation Fiacla has produced many successes. As of 31 July 2015, Operation Fiacla had led to 14,050 arrests, with 7,996 charges being brought against suspects. In addition, €700,000 has been allocated for new specialised vehicles to support gardaí in responding to current and emerging crime threats, including burglaries committed by highly-mobile gangs. This Government has invested nearly €29 million in new Garda vehicles since 2012, with 370 new vehicles coming on stream this year. The Government's investment in new Garda vehicles clearly supports the delivery of highly-mobile Garda patrols which must be the priority for rural policing.

Of course, the fight against burglaries and crime generally will be aided greatly by the Government's decision to recruit new gardaí. Since September 2014, 400 new gardaí have entered the Garda College in Templemore. Of these, 295 having already attested and are now working in communities nationwide. In addition, 150 more recruits are due to enter the Garda College next month. This additional recruitment will bring to 550 the total number of gardaí that will have been recruited under this Government between September 2014 and 2015. In addition, a series of reforms are helping to free up more gardaí for front-line policing. For example, the civilianisation of Garda immigration functions and the transfer of certain functions to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service will release 125 gardaí for other duties. All of these measures, including new legislation and targeted Garda operations, will strengthen the Minister's carefully considered approach to dealing with serial offenders and supporting improved community safety.

See this speech in context