Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that the Minister has introduced the Bill, which will go some way towards addressing the appalling situation, with the CSO crime statistics showing that we are effectively losing the battle against crime on a number of fronts. I acknowledge that CSO statistics indicate some areas of improvement. The Government has been behind the curve for many reasons - not the fault of the Minister, I credit her with that - in coming to terms with the issues that Deputies have been raising in the House and people throughout the country have been raising at public meetings.

I spent most of last Thursday at the National Ploughing Championships. One of the significant themes of discussion at the event was the issue of rural crime. People need reassurance and need to know that we get it. I know that I get it and that the Minister gets it. The question is whether everybody else gets it. Those in our communities, particularly elderly people, have been under siege. Unfortunately, there is more of a rural dominance of crime than an urban one. However, it is a significant problem across Dublin and our urban centres. The legislation will go a long way towards dealing with it. I believe the Minister could go further and I will outline that.

I wish to comment on what was reported in the news at 1 o'clock. I mentioned that the public and victims in particular need reassurance. The public will take considerable reassurance from the news that seven individuals involved in a case in County Tipperary were handed down sentences totalling 105 years, which is a very powerful statement by the courts, which are independent of us obviously, but which have to follow the legislation enacted here. I welcome that the courts have sent that powerful message.

The Minister will be aware of a tragedy in my constituency where a man died as a result of coming across two people burgling his house in Doon, County Limerick. There was to have been a public meeting in Doon on Tuesday evening, but it did not happen for a number of reasons. I know the village because it is in my constituency. The community there is no different from the communities in Littleton or other parts of the country that have experienced these incidents. They need reassurance and they will have got that from the courts today. This legislation will go some way towards reassuring them.

The Minister spoke about Garda recruitment. I have been on the record in welcoming that Garda recruitment has started. The shorter period of training, which is now the model in Templemore, will push people through that training facility more quickly and get them into our communities and on our streets, which is welcome.

On a number of occasions I have raised the issue of the Garda Reserve with the Minister. I mentioned it last week in the debate on the Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. The Garda Síochána Act 2005 placed a cap on the number of Garda reserves we can have as a complement to the total force. We need to look at that. I believe we have about 1,100 Garda reserves. I know many people who want to be Garda reserves and are willing to give of their time to serve their community through the Garda Reserve. I believe it is a great complement, addition and asset to the main force to have these people. We need to consider amending the 2005 Act. Perhaps the Minister can investigate doing that through the Bill before the House in order to give the Garda Commissioner the discretion and capacity to increase the number of Garda reserves.

I have previously told the Minister that the Garda reserves feel undervalued. Many of them are disappointed with the outturn of the recent recruitment campaign, as they did not make it through that process. However, they are still working as Garda reserves. Even though their powers are limited as Garda reserves, many of them partake in duties and functions beyond their specific remit. In other words they are doing the full job and doing it quite well. They can provide testimonies and presumably they could provide references from their superiors to vouch for that. We need a better structure for the Garda Reserve and use it as it is used in other jurisdictions where the reserve force is used as a pool to feed into the main force when recruiting to fill vacancies in the main force. I would like the Minister to look at that again.

We have had hours of debates in this Chamber on Garda stations since before the Minister became Minister for Justice and Equality. We have left large parts of Ireland without the presence of members of An Garda Síochána as a result of closing Garda stations.

We had a debate on the cost of keeping a station open. The figures available to me suggested it would be approximately €3,500 to €4,000 per annum. As Garda stations are owned by the OPW, the main costs concern upkeep and repair. The net point is that by closing Garda stations we deprive communities of the visible presence and service of the Garda Síochána. In many instances, that has been cited as a reason for a spike in crime in communities, including in Doon in my constituency. The Minister rightly referred to the investment in the provision of Garda vehicles but in Doon, the local garda had to use his own car. I accept the Minister is investing in the fleet but we must expedite the provision of Garda vehicles in communities. The timescale must be faster. The matter has been discussed at the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. The turnaround period is very slow from the time the announcement is made to when it gets through the system, for the vehicles to be bought by those responsible in Garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park and for them to be marked up and deployed into communities. The process is very slow and it must move more quickly.

The Minister outlined the provisions of the Bill. We support and welcome the fact that bail is being significantly tightened up for those who have previous convictions, who appear likely to reoffend. The statistics available on recidivism are truly shocking. A total of 60% of convicted burglars reoffend within a three-year period. That sends a very powerful message.

I also welcome the provision in the Bill on consecutive sentencing. The Minister might be aware that I published a Private Members’ Bill on behalf of my party on sentencing for burglary. Following a review of the legislation, that is something the Minister should consider. We will see how the situation pans out. We will support the changes. If the legislation could provide for a minimum, mandatory sentence on first conviction, as outlined in my Bill, and a higher mandatory second on one’s third conviction, it would send a message. The figures show that a small number of people carry out the vast majority of burglaries throughout the country. The argument is that my Bill, which provides for a mandatory sentence, would be unworkable because prisons would be full. However, the official figures indicate that prisons are at 90% or 95% capacity, so that argument just does not wash. We must consider an approach such as that which I have suggested.

I urge the Minister to take on board a policy suggestion we previously offered in respect of sentencing. We said that we need to examine the UK model in terms of the establishment of a sentencing council, the entire remit and focus of which would be to provide consistency and uniformity in the handing down of sentences. That is not to trample on the independence of the Judiciary. Such a council would work with the latter. The review of the sentencing council in the UK has been very positive. In the UK, there is not the same situation that arises here from time to time when there is outcry due to the perceived, or otherwise, inconsistency in sentencing. A sentencing council would include a majority of members of the Judiciary. It would not be a new quango but would fit neatly into the Courts Service. The members of the Judiciary would be supported by representatives of the HSE, the education sector, the Garda Síochána, the Prison Service and anybody else who could bring something positive to the table. That is something we could examine as part of the current overall review of the criminal justice system.

In the context of recruitment, I mentioned the Garda Reserve. Could the Minister indicate whether it is her intention to bring the force back up to the magic figure we had once upon a time of 14,000? That is an aspiration to which the Fianna Fáil Party subscribes. If we were to consider it; that is something for which the Minister would get great credit. The strength of the force is now well below 13,000. Capacity is an issue. Policing duties are a 24-7 business. The men and women working on the force must take holidays and when they get sick, they also require time off. Crime does not just happen on a Monday-to-Friday basis.

The Bill does not specifically mention protection of the elderly but, indirectly, it concerns their protection. We have all seen the most recent graphic image of a 92-year old lady from Bray, County Wicklow, who was assaulted in her home. An attack by young able-bodied people on an elderly person living alone must rank among the worst crimes that can be committed. The Bill we are discussing - like those I have published - will send a message and put a robust legislative response in place on the Statute Book. That is what I offer in the assaults on elderly persons Bill, whereby a person who assaults an elderly person, namely, a person over 65 years of age, would receive a minimum mandatory sentence of five years. We must have strong legislative deterrents in place. Two weeks after the assault on the elderly lady in Wicklow, which was graphically reported on the RTE news, she was still in hospital. She will never return home. That is a shocking state of affairs. It is ironic, perhaps that is the wrong word, that the crime occurred in an urban setting - a very densely-populated area - rather than in a rural area, particularly as much of the focus has been on the situation in such areas.

The Minister referred to the text alert system and the neighbourhood watch scheme. There has been a significant uptake in such schemes, which add considerably to combatting crime. I am a member of the text alert system in my community of Patrickswell. We regularly receive text messages on various issues and keep an eye out for issues of concern to the local Garda. We should consider how we could better co-ordinate such schemes, including neighbourhood watch, in conjunction with Muintir na Tíre. Muintir na Tíre is not a statutory body, it is a voluntary organisation that does great work. There are other such bodies that deserve great praise and support. A national directorate is required to provide assistance and oversight to all of those organisations and the text alert, neighbourhood watch and community alert schemes. It would work with the organisations and help them to help their communities and keep them safe. That is an issue that must be taken on board.

The Minister also referred to the investment in technology. Much of that concerns ICT systems within An Garda Síochána. On previous occasions, the Minister acknowledged that we must roll out more CCTV capability and capacity, in particular on motorways given that much of the crime and burglaries in rural areas is carried out by people who come from the capital city and use the motorways to get to isolated rural communities. That is evident from the report from Tipperary today.

The criminal justice system must also be restorative. That is a challenge for the Prison Service. It is key that we must send out a strong legislative message that people will be locked up for crimes such as burglary and assault on the elderly. However, because the criminal justice system must be restorative in nature, we must consider measures which will hopefully reconstruct the lives of those who have committed crimes.

The fact that statistics show recidivism is so high points to a problem with the criminal justice system regarding the restorative nature of what happens within the prison system and this matter must also be considered.

I believe I have covered all the issues but in summary, naturally Fianna Fáil is supporting the Bill. I welcome that the Minister has brought it further and ask her to take on board my comments on mandatory sentencing. I acknowledge that when mandatory sentencing was introduced previously for the trafficking, supply and provision of drugs, it was not found to be a success because effectively, those who were profiting and gaining from drug trafficking and drug dealing were not the people who eventually found themselves being curbed by mandatory sentencing. Certainly, however, in respect of the crimes of assaults committed on elderly persons or during burglaries, as well as the act of burglary itself, the provision of mandatory sentencing would send a strong message to such people and there would be a significant drop in such crimes. Nevertheless, I welcome the Bill in any event.

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