John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like others, I welcome this Bill, but I wonder about its impact in terms of the custodial sentences that might be granted. Have we the places to accommodate all the extra individuals who might be sent to prison? I also question the extent to which the Garda can investigate every burglary.

It will require extra resources, which must include not only cars but also manpower and the ability to deal with under-age burglars. I disagree with some of the comments made earlier to the effect that this thinking is driven by media comments that burglary is widespread throughout the country. There are indeed burglaries throughout the country. In fact, they are horrendous in rural areas. The number of people in isolated areas who live in fear and have a gun or some other weapon beside their bed or elsewhere in their house when the nights get long has grown immensely. They will say this. People openly admit they will defend their homes and belongings at all costs.

There are burglaries that are not reported. Farm machinery, diesel and home heating oil are being stolen but these crimes go unnoticed because they are not reported to the Garda, although they are reported generally to us or on local radio. When they are reported to the Garda, it is very difficult to find the culprit. Since that is the reality, investment is required in technology, gardaí and the means of pursuing the hard-nosed criminals involved in burglary as a business.

I can point to an industrial estate in Kilkenny that is burgled regularly. Substantial businesses are under threat because those who are involved in the criminal activity, and who are known, leave little or no trace behind them. It is therefore hard to tie them down and convict them. It is also a fact that they are using young children to carry out burglaries. At times, they can be untouched by the law. CCTV footage that pinpoints individuals at particular locations may not be good enough to be presented in court, yet everyone knows what is going on.

It is a crime to extract from a business a sum of money every week for protection. Businesses have to go to such lengths as paying criminals to protect their properties. The growth of activity in this area is outrageous. It is outrageous that commercial operators are subjected to that sort of Mafia control of their business and locality without the Garda being able to intervene substantially to track down the criminals.

I have witnessed under-age youths being used for the purpose of criminality. The Garda and local community know this, yet no action is taken because the amount of evidence required is simply not available. However, local knowledge and the experience of businesses and households in the area in question prove my point. We have to find a way to tilt the balance of justice in favour of the person whose property is broken into and the families against whom the criminals are acting.

With bullying, intimidation and criminality comes fear. Householders are living in fear, as are the businesspeople who are paying protection money. The latter know it is easier to pay the protection money than to rely on the Garda. I fully support the efforts of the Garda and am behind it in every way I can, but its hands are tied. As legislators we need to untie its hands. We need to enable it to take on the powerful criminals and ensure they are put out of business. In most cases, the burglars and thieves to whom I refer start in some way with petty theft. They start in some way on the first rung of the ladder. They are known at that stage but they are not plucked from their community and sent to prison or redirected, through guidance and counselling, to a more productive and active role in society. That is where the breakdown is. If we do not correct the small things, the bigger things will continue to feature. Right now, burglary and criminal activity are out of control in rural areas to the extent that criminals now feel they can now pick up a gun or other weapon and attack a person in his or her own home. They feel they can hold a man or woman overnight while taking control of his or her family home or business with the aim of walking away with the takings and damaging him or her in some way. I know from experience that when this happens to one, one never looks at that crime in the same way again. One constantly lives in fear and overreacts by installing in one's house or business extensive technology to ensure everything is recorded. Nowadays, however, although criminal activity may be recorded, the police cannot rely on the recording because the criminals are too smart and too far ahead of the gardaí who are trying to detect the crime.

All support should be given to the gardaí but we have to find some method of engaging with the burglars and other criminals at a very early stage to put them out of business. Where people who live in fear are willing to come forward and speak about it, they should be given protection. I would go so far as to say that if they speak against a known burglar or criminal publicly, they should be afforded the protection of the Garda to ensure they are safe in their homes and businesses. As long as we stand by and do not introduce an effective mechanism or control of this kind, we are allowing the criminals to prosper. That does not bode well for rural areas or communities generally.

Rural areas are undergoing serious difficulties with burglaries at present. It is a fact that the motorways have made the countryside more accessible. It is a fact that organised gangs are travelling from Dublin and identifying properties by marking them in a particular way. The Garda recognises this. The activities of the individuals who own the properties, be they commercial or residential, are known to the gangs. When the criminals come to visit, they already have a plan of engagement and know exactly how they will vandalise the property or rob the household, machinery or commercial outlet and take away the proceeds. They use high-speed cars and carry out burglaries regularly. They are organised and are known to the Garda. If they are known and if what we are hearing in rural areas and seeing on television is true, or even half true, it is demanded of this House to react in a far more effective way than simply passing this legislation. Let us be honest with one another. As parliamentarians setting out the law, we have a real problem and it will not go away with the introduction of this legislation, although I welcome it.

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