Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak to this important Bill. It is quite obvious that we will support it. It is a much-needed Bill and something for which Fianna Fáil has called for a long time. We produced a similar Bill in recent months. Legislation alone will not tackle the serious difficulties facing Ireland, not just in rural areas. Rural Deputies speak about rural Ireland and urban Deputies about urban Ireland. We are here to represent our constituencies and highlight and articulate the causes of concern experienced in constituencies throughout the country.

The clear facts of the matter confirm one thing, namely, that policy decisions taken by the Government over recent years have led to a steady increase in the number of burglaries and related offences. In the first half of this year there was an 8.4% increase in burglaries and related offences. The simple fact of the matter is that people are terrified in their own homes.

On my way home from the Chamber recently, I called into a constituent to discuss a query which had nothing to do with crime. The man had two Alsatians and a collie dog and I said no one would come in and interfere with him. He said they would not and that he sleeps soundly at night because he has the animals with him and lies beside a shotgun in his bed. That is what we have driven people to.

While the Bill is welcome, legislation alone will not deal with the issue. We have to ensure resources are put in place. The Government cannot abdicate its responsibility for the implications of its decision to close 139 Garda stations. It was a bad decision and one which should never have been taken. Areas in my constituency such as Ardagh, Ratoath, Casteltown-Kinneigh, Ballinalee and Newtowncashel have seen the Garda presence diminish because of the closure of Garda stations.

This has led to an increased sense of vulnerability in these particular areas. When the decision was taken by the Government and the previous Minister, it was promised the decision would be reviewed at some time in the future. When will this decision be reviewed? If Garda stations were not an important presence in localities, why would we have them in any small community? If they are just a simple presence and just bricks and mortar why do we have them in any village or community - let us close them all and sell them off and see what money we would make? It would be the wrong decision. Why does one community or one village get to maintain a Garda station while another community or another village does not? The sense of presence of gardaí interacting on a daily basis with the local post office and community is no longer there with the removal of these facilities.

We have also seen a savage reduction in the number of personnel serving in the Garda. The Government likes to blame the previous Government for this, because of a decision taken in late 2010 to stop entrants to Templemore. The Government was in power for the full year in 2011, 2012 and 2013 but it did not make the decision to begin the recruitment process until the latter end of 2014. No one on the other side of the House made the decision to start the recruitment process, and because of four years of a lack of recruitment, one under the previous Government and three under the current Government, we have a radically depleted Garda force. I take this opportunity to put on record my admiration for the many people who do a fantastic job under particularly difficult circumstances.

In recent months and years I have been involved, as I am sure have been many Deputies across all political persuasions, in working with the Garda to see how we can support it in strengthening its presence in rural communities through the establishment of neighbourhood watch and the text alert system, which I heard previous speakers mention. Financial support for a more streamlined approach for the establishment of text alert systems should be examined. Some community groups do not have the money to erect signs to state there is a community text alert system in the area, and I hope the Minister of State will bring this back to the Minister for Justice and Equality. It should be looked at.

One of the most recent meetings I attended was in Street, County Westmeath, on the border with County Longford. In the space of one week, six burglaries occurred in that area. With only 24 hours notice, more than 80 people gathered in a small community hall because they were so worried about the future safety of their community. This is a fact and I am not making it up. It was reported in the local newspaper. What was most stark was that a member of An Garda Síochána was to be present on the night to address and listen to the concerns of the community, but at 7.55 p.m. that evening the person organising the meeting received a phone call from local gardaí to state they could not attend because they did not have the resources as they were called to something else. Because that parish is on the border, three different stations look after it. The manner in which the borders and districts are set out needs to be examined. Three different stations were looking after the community but nobody could go to the meeting. I rang Mullingar Garda station, but nobody was available from there to address a public meeting. This was not the fault of the Garda but the fault of the Government for not ensuring the Garda is adequately resourced. If it was not for the commitment of the local sergeant, who came in although he was off duty to address the people's concerns, nobody would have been there. When he got up and spoke, and highlighted how underresourced the Garda is with regard to personnel and equipment, it would have made the hair on the back of one's head stand.

In Edgeworthstown in County Longford one female Garda was called out to attend an aggravated burglary on her own. This should not be the case. That lady ran the risk of being assaulted or overpowered, or even having an accusation thrown against her. This comes from the lack of adequate personnel.

According to a report in a local newspaper, a gentleman asleep in the middle of the night was woken by a man in a black balaclava brandishing a large knife, with another man armed with a handgun. This was the start of a terrifying ordeal for the man, his wife and their three daughters aged two, six and eight. This is what is happening in rural Ireland. This week, the Longford Leaderhad a report about farm theft, and people breaking in and taking diesel and oil. Half of these incidents are not being reported. Mr. Eugene McGee, a notable journalist from County Longford, wrote in the Irish Independentthat, "Longford has become a convenient base for many criminals, large and small, who may be feeling pressure from the law in the capital and make the easy sortie to our territory instead." They empty domestic fuel tanks and commit cattle rustling, as occurred in Kilbeggan where 800 head of cattle were stolen one night. They steal copper piping and remove fire places from empty houses. The most problematic of all is that they threaten old people in their own homes.

This is repeated time and again, and not only in rural parts of the constituency in Longford, Edgeworthstown, Street and Finnea as it is also happening in Mullingar. I visited an elderly couple, who would not like me describing them as elderly but they are in their 70s, who told me that one evening they heard noises in their house and they saw somebody going out the window. When I returned to the house a week later to see how they were I might as well have been going into Fort Knox. They had fitted locks on every internal door in the house. This is what is happening. As I said, people are absolutely terrified in their own homes.

While I welcome the legislation, legislation alone will not answer the problem. We need to look at how we will adequately resource our gardaí, who are being put to the pin of their collars at present. They need greater support. I suggest that although we are now recruiting people into the Garda this will not keep pace with the number of people who are retiring and being promoted. Will the Government examine, as a temporary measure, allowing some gardaí who are coming to retirement age to stay on for a couple of years while we bridge the gap, because if we keep simply recruiting 500 gardaí a year we will not get back up to the strength of 14,000, which we need, because of the number of gardaí retiring and being promoted. This could be looked at in a short timeframe of three or five years while we get the numbers back up.

The new rostering process is not working. We have moved from a cycle of four shifts to a cycle of five shifts. In the past a quarter of gardaí worked at all times, but now only one fifth, or 20%, of gardaí work at all times.

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Resources are again being spread further and it will lead to a lesser effect.

We also need to consider how people who have never worked a day in their lives can live very extravagant lifestyles, driving sports utility vehicles and going on holidays. Their only official means of income is social welfare. How can this be? It is quite obvious it is because these people are engaged in criminal behaviour, burglaries and theft. Maybe there is a case for bringing in the Criminal Assets Bureau to help eradicate the scourge of theft that has left such blight on our countryside and both rural and urban areas.

We also need to examine the number of people availing of free legal aid, as I have previously mentioned. I am not for one minute saying that we should cut this out and I do not advocate that. The question must be asked nevertheless. We know from statistics the high level of people who are repeat offenders. At what stage do we say "Stop" and no longer provide free legal aid for a person who repeatedly commits burglaries and related offences? We must look at the matter. It is not good enough that such people can break into a person's home. A home is a person's palace or castle and it is where people should feel a sense of security and be at ease. People do not feel that way in their homes now but we are helping people who have committed some of the burglaries to get off by providing free legal aid to them.

I use this opportunity to ask about the police authority that has been promised by this Government. I again put on record my admiration for the vast majority of those working in An Garda Síochána who are honourable, decent and hard-working people who have signed up to serve their country and are doing it in a very appropriate manner. Nevertheless, a number of people are not doing this, so there should be a level of authority to ensure we can deal with those who are not carrying out their duty properly. Only this week, it was reported that a colleague in this House would be charged with a criminal offence. From where did that information emanate? We cannot have cases like we had a number of weeks ago, when a former colleague of mine and former Member of this House was reported in a national newspaper as being under investigation even before he had the opportunity to go in, be questioned and give his side of the case. There is something morally wrong when this goes on in society today. The establishment of the police authority, advocated by the Government over the past number of years, is still awaited. We need to see it fairly quickly.

I welcome this legislation, which will help to deal with people who are caught. We know there is only a 10% detection rate of burglaries now, so with that in mind, we need to look at putting in adequate resources to ensure gardaí can be fully equipped to protect communities that they serve. Why are 50 of 60 electronic tagging devices unused? That should not be. My colleagues and previous speakers have spoken about the new road improvements in the past number of years, which leave everybody and every place so accessible. It leaves easy targets for criminal gangs to move into from place to place. We need to consider erecting close-circuit television cameras at the main junctions so we can keep a watchful eye on the people who like to prey on our communities.

I will finish by telling a story of an event in my village that shows the importance of having a rural Garda station. A couple were driving along, minding their own business one evening when somebody came up behind and forced them to pull to the side. In their naivete, they believed it was an unmarked Garda car. The person in the other car asked them why the couple was driving so slowly and requested a driving licence or identification. In their honesty, they went to hand it over but when the man took his wallet from his pocket, it was whipped from his hands and the perpetrators returned to their car and sped away. That is an example of what is preying on vulnerable people in our communities. I am thankful we have a Garda station in our village as within two minutes, the local garda was dealing with the incident. It is important to have rural Garda stations open and active. I ask the Minister to ensure that the review promised at the time the stations were closed can take place immediately. I also hope she will take on board some of my suggestions.

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