Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I think the Taoiseach will accept there is widespread public concern about crime in urban and rural areas. Over the past 12 months we have probably heard more about rural crime than we have ever heard before although an analysis of the figures shows that crime is a problem in our urban areas as well. It is good to hear the Taoiseach proposes to convene a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Justice Reform to look at the Garda Inspectorate report. The report throws up hugely significant issues which go to the heart of our decades old policing system. The issues are implicitly critical of the current and previous justice Ministers, including justice Ministers from my party, in so far as they presided over a bureaucratisation of the policing service.

The public, to some extent, is way ahead of politicians in terms of how it views the policing service. If one talks to people in Mayo, Kildare or Dublin, one will hear that they want gardaí to be highly visible on their streets, housing estates and country roads. If there is an incident in their home or business, they want to be sure that when they lift the phone there will be an expeditious response from gardaí. The reality is, however, that we have allowed a system to develop whereby large numbers of gardaí are tied down by office duties, bureaucracy, court attendances and a multitude of other duties, many of which could be taken on by civilian staff, thereby allowing gardaí to go back on the beat, to work in communities and to be more visible than they have been in recent years. The Garda Inspectorate in its recent report estimated that 1,500 gardaí could be freed up for this type of duty, with 250 identifiable straight away. In that context, the report is making a point with which many members of the public would concur. Does the Taoiseach envisage the Cabinet sub-committee on justice addressing this particular issue and being in a position to do something about it?

A report on recidivism published by the CSO in recent days highlighted a recurring problem with young male offenders in particular, who return again and again to a life of crime. It is quite clear these people are not gaining anything from their incarceration within the prison system, albeit that there is a training and education service available to them. It must be noted that our prison service is particularly expensive. It costs in the order of €70,000 per annum to incarcerate a prisoner. Many of those who have become involved in a life of crime can be identified at a very early stage in life. Those involved in the education system, for example, are able to identify, at a very early age, children who are at risk of ending up in prison later on and yet we have not been investing as a State in the early intervention that is needed. The home school liaison programme, the school completion programme and guidance counselling have all been negatively impacted by cuts made by this Government and previous Governments.

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