Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Deputies can see on the monitors, the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, is unavoidably detained in the Seanad, where she is dealing with another Bill. She has asked me to speak on her behalf as we close the debate on this Bill. I am very pleased to have an opportunity to participate in the debate. It is clear that domestic burglary is of great concern to all Members of this House. I want to thank everyone who contributed to the debate on this Bill. Clearly, burglary is not just an attack on property. It is also an attack on the sense of peace and safety we deserve to enjoy in our homes.

The Government's response to crime in rural and urban areas, particularly burglaries, is focused on two key objectives: strengthening the law to get tougher on serious and repeat offenders, and investing in the capacity of An Garda Síochána to enforce that law effectively. The Minister's concern about burglaries last winter led her to commission a review earlier this year. This Bill is directly informed by the concerns identified by the Garda during that review. Her officials met directly with detectives operating in our communities to tackle burglary so that they could hear at first hand about the difficulties they face and identify the improvements in the law which are being delivered in this Bill.

The Garda has highlighted the particular challenges it faces in tackling repeat offenders who obtain bail despite having multiple convictions or facing multiple charges. Such offenders often commit many burglaries while on bail and then push to receive a sentence for as few offences as possible while having many more "taken into consideration". The Bill addresses both ends of this problem in a focused way. It carefully balances the constitutional right of accused people to liberty with the very important constitutionally guaranteed right to an inviolable dwelling. This legislation will ensure the multiple offences of domestic burglary or multiple pending charges, or a combination of both, will be considered as evidence that a person is likely to commit further domestic burglary. This will allow courts to deny bail to such prolific offenders in appropriate cases. I know this is welcomed by all Members.

On the sentencing side of the problem, the Bill will ensure that multiple offences committed within the same 12-month period cannot simply be taken into consideration or rolled up into a single concurrent sentence of imprisonment. If a court is minded to impose a sentence of imprisonment, it will be obliged to impose it consecutively to any sentence of imprisonment for domestic burglary committed within the same 12-month period. As Members will be aware, work is progressing separately on the drafting of the new bail Bill, which the Minister intends to introduce as a matter of priority. This Bill will strengthen the law to protect the public against crimes committed by people on bail.

The Minister is aware that legislation is just one part of the solution. It has been made clear by Deputies on all sides of the House that this Bill must be followed by action on the ground delivered by the men and women of An Garda Síochána. They guarantee the rule of law and they are the means by which the democratic will of the people is upheld. One might say that gardaí are the backbone of the nation. Garda Tony Golden was a member of An Garda Síochána who protected the vulnerable. He died honouring his oath to faithfully discharge his duties. He went beyond his oath and laid down his life in the service of his community. We are all humbled in the face of such a sacrifice.

We can never repay the debt of gratitude owed to him or the 87 other members of the force who have died in the line of duty. We express our genuine sorrow, our deep sympathy and our heartfelt gratitude for their sacrifice, but it is incumbent on us as legislators and as a Government to go beyond mere words. We must do all we can to show all the members of the Garda Síochána that they have our wholehearted, practical support.

It is important that we equip gardaí to do their jobs. The Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, recently announced the allocation of a further €5. 3 million for the purchase of 260 vehicles by the end of the year. The investment comes on top of the almost €29 million this Government has invested since 2012 in renewing the Garda fleet to support front-line Garda responses. So far this year 370 new vehicles have come on stream, including new specialised vehicles.

Investment in the Garda fleet will continue under the Government's capital plan 2016-2021, which provides a major investment in 21st century policing to prevent and tackle crime. An additional €46 million for new Garda vehicles will be allocated over the lifetime of the plan. This is in addition to the recent authorisation of €1.75 million to upgrade surveillance equipment on Garda aircraft. The capital plan contains an additional €205 million for Garda ICT systems and technology. This will bring the overall Garda ICT funding to €330 million over the lifetime of the capital plan.

In Athlone recently, the Minister for Justice and Equality and I announced details of An Garda Síochána's building and refurbishment programme 2016-2021. This comprehensive programme of investment includes over €60 million of Exchequer funding as part of the Government capital plan 2016-2021 as well as a major public private partnership project. On 13 November, the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, announced the commencement of DNA legislation and the launch of a new state-of-the-art DNA database system, based in Forensic Science Ireland in the Phoenix Park. The DNA database system became operational on Friday last. The DNA database represents a very significant development in assisting the Garda Síochána in the investigation of crime. This high quality intelligence tool will be invaluable in the fight against volume crime, such as burglary and theft, and in the investigation of serious offences against the person. It is vital that our police force has all it requires, including modern technology, to protect the State and its citizens from crime. This new system will be an invaluable asset in this regard.

The most valuable resources within the Garda Síochána, however, are its members. We have seen almost 400 new recruits enter since September 2014, with another 150 due to enter in the coming months. In the recent budget the Minister secured an extra allocation to allow for the recruitment of 600 new gardaí next year.

A key part of An Garda Síochána's strategy in the fight against rural crime is to work in partnership with the community and key stakeholders directly and through community-based organisations such as the Irish Farmers’ Association, Neighbourhood Watch and Muintir na Tíre. Part of this strategy under Operation Thor is to raise awareness in the community as to how people can work together to prevent crime. The funding being provided to support Community Alert and Crimestoppers is being doubled with a total allocation of €397,000 in 2016. As of October, the latest date for which figures are available, there are 813 dedicated community gardaí working and engaging with communities both urban and rural.

Operation Thor, a new multi-strand national anti-crime and anti-burglary operation, was recently launched by the Garda Commissioner. A further allocation of over €5 million has been committed to support Operation Thor, which entails a broad range of activities to tackle crime, particularly burglaries, in both urban and rural communities nationwide. These include additional high-visibility patrols in identified burglary hotspots, increased use of checkpoints to tackle the criminal gangs using the national road network, the use of new high-powered vehicles by the armed regional response units, efforts to disrupt the stolen goods market, programmes to help reduce re-offending by prolific offenders, a high-profile national crime prevention awareness campaign, targeted crime prevention advice for local communities and enhanced supports for victims.

Since Operation Thor commenced earlier this month, there has been a range of arrests and persons charged as part of planned operations. These include arrests in Dublin, Dundalk, Cavan, Dunboyne, Mullingar and Birr, as well as a large-scale search of 12 locations in the Limerick area as part of a targeted operation again organised crime groups, in which drugs and firearms were also seized. The Minister expects to received ongoing reports on the impact of Operation Thor throughout the country.

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, listened with concern to all the particular cases mentioned by colleagues. She and I sympathise with all victims of burglary and I believe that the victims would want us to go beyond expressions of horror at the crimes they have endured. In addition to resourcing the Garda Síochána to tackle offenders and strengthening the law, we are putting in place supports for victims. Any crime can have a devastating impact on a victim. There is the direct harm caused by the crime itself, but also the awful feeling of a loss of control and a sense of powerlessness. The general scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill has been published and the Bill is now being drafted by the Office of the Attorney General. It will put the rights of victims of crime at the heart of the justice system for the first time. From their first contact with the Garda Síochána, victims will have a right to receive clear information on the criminal justice system, their role within it and the range of services and entitlements they may access. The Bill provides the right to receive written acknowledgement of the making of a complaint, as well as details on how further information can be obtained. Victims will be able to request information concerning the progress of the investigation and any court proceedings arising from it. Victims will have the right to an individual assessment of the measures necessary for their protection from further victimisation. The Garda Síochána, the Courts Service, the DPP, the Prison Service and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission will all be obliged to train staff members on the needs of victims and to enable them to deal with victims in a respectful and professional manner.

I know Deputies will be aware of the widely reported case which saw the Circuit Court impose heavy sentences for a case of aggravated burglary in Tipperary in recent weeks. On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, I wish to express our deep sympathy to the family who fell victim to such a terrible and traumatising crime. I hope that it is some comfort to them and to the whole community that the gardaí were equipped to chase, arrest and successfully prosecute such dangerous criminals. The case is also a clear demonstration that courts can and will impose heavy sentences in the appropriate circumstances.

Crime and policing has a lot more complexity to it than where a station is located. Contrary to what some people have said in this debate, recent crime statistics show no direct correlation between station closures and a rise in burglary. In fact, burglary has fallen in some divisions where stations were closed and in many rural areas in particular. The Minister understands the concern expressed at the closure of Garda stations. It can appear that resources are being withdrawn from an area when this happens. Nothing could be further from the truth. The closure of Garda stations was not about saving money; it was primarily done to enhance service delivery and efficiency. The rationalisation programme put in place by Garda management allows front-line gardaí to be managed and deployed with greater mobility and greater flexibility, particularly with regard to various targeted police operations. As a result, communities benefit from increased Garda visibility and increased patrolling hours which improves the policing service to the public.

The network of over 700 Garda stations inherited from the Royal Irish Constabulary and the Dublin Metropolitan Police reflected a 19th-century model that pre-dated the invention of the motor car. Can anyone seriously argue that a 19th-century policing model should be applied to 21st-century crime? The Garda strategy, which the Minister supports and has resourced, is to ensure a dynamic policing response that is enabled to tackle crime when and where it happens, and with the appropriate equipment. A garda cannot drive a desk to the scene of a crime to apprehend criminals, or move that desk to the other side of the county in response to changing crime patterns. However, a garda in a patrol car or a high-powered response vehicle can both engage with the local community and attend the scenes of crimes.

We must support a 21st-century model of policing. I have already outlined the major investment by the Government, already under way and planned for future years, in Garda vehicles, Garda ICT resources, Garda air support and, most important of all, in new Garda recruits, with 600 planned for next year and 150 by the end of this year.

In conclusion, I ask Members to support the Bill. As Members of this House, it is our duty to respond to the needs of the communities we represent and to address the problems they face with practical solutions. It is incumbent on us to support the Garda Síochána in its efforts to tackle the invasive crime of burglary. The Bill was developed having sought the advice of gardaí on the ground and in light of the actual challenges they face. It represents a targeted response to those who think they can repeatedly burgle the homes of innocent victims with impunity.

4 o’clock

While short, it is a technically complex Bill which carefully balances constitutional rights to ensure the Garda and courts can respond fairly but effectively to the harm caused by prolific burglars. It is only part of the Government's overall response to crime and is being supported by investment in Garda resources - that is, the men and women of An Garda Síochána and equipment. In years to come, we will look back on this Bill as a very positive weapon in the fight against crime. I commend it to the House.

See this speech in context