Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is okay. I would like to reiterate much of what my colleagues have being saying about this Bill. It is headline-grabbing legislation which is meant to send out a message to people who have been victims of burglary that the Government is somehow tough on crime and is going to lock up the burglars. I do not believe this will happen. This is not the way to tackle burglaries. It is the way to tackle headlines. It is easy for the Government to say it is going to introduce tougher sentences, bail laws and all sorts of legal penalties for burglars but they must be caught first. The headline figures released yesterday were all about homicide and murder, which are down, thank God, but the figures suggest that the number of burglaries is rocketing. My guess, and I think this has been proved by criminologists over the years, is that what deters criminals of all sorts, and not just burglars, is the likelihood of getting caught and not the severity of the sentence. Once again, the shortcut is taken by the Government. It will appear as being a zero-tolerance Government in the face of what is an epidemic of burglaries in certain parts of the country. The Minister will correct me if I am wrong but, as of yesterday, the number of burglaries is up 9% per annum. That is not an acceptable figure and one which this Bill will not dent. This Bill will lock up people who are caught for a little longer but it will certainly not catch any more people.

Deputy Clare Daly and other Deputies who represent urban areas have already stated it but what we need is the reopening of Garda stations. The Government has made a massive mistake. More than 100 Garda stations were closed throughout the country, yet the Government says it is a surprise when the number of burglaries increases. It is extraordinary. The Government saved €500,000 in the process of closing those stations. This is backward thinking. The Government must now recognise the folly of that policy and reverse the decision. It is very difficult for a Government to reverse one of its decisions. However, this Government must know that its decision was wrong. It must know the number of burglaries has risen as a result, that the €500,000 in savings is a pittance and that to reinstate many Garda stations would be the answer.

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