Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman for giving me the opportunity to speak on this vital issue. I am happy that we live in a State where most citizens regard gardaí as their friends and where they are, save in exceptional circumstances, unarmed. I am proud to be part of a political party that defended the traditions of law and order in this country and that has always supported the Garda. My party has been consistent in this matter.

We need to pay tribute to the gardaí who have lost their lives and give them due consideration in this debate. Each Deputy present in the House today needs to reflect on the lives that were lost unnecessarily and on the terrible pain and loss felt by their bereaved families to this day. In supporting the Garda, the need for greater transparency and accountability in our policing is at the forefront of our justice policy.

As a family lawyer I see at first hand the detrimental effects of crime on families. In particular, crime perpetrated within families sets a terrible precedent for children, especially when hidden. It stunts their faith in humanity and fair play and destroys the idealism of youth. Crime is utterly corrosive. It undermines our faith in each other and in society. Violence within families is a problem that does not grab headlines unless it results in death, and all too often a wife or female partner is the victim. Our domestic violence laws will continue to be reformed and updated, and funding for anti-violence initiatives should continue.

Crime is a major issue in my constituency, Dublin Rathdown. The closure of Stepaside Garda station, which I always opposed, took away a much-respected and relied on Garda presence in Stepaside village. While the Garda presence continues in the form of patrols and Garda clinics, the loss of the Garda station is keenly felt by many. I hope that the review of the dispersal of Garda stations in urban, suburban and rural areas will increase the Garda presence in the Stepaside area and that the reopening of the station will receive serious consideration. We have to examine crime patterns and decide whether, together with demographic changes, they add credence to the argument to re-open the station and we may then achieve our aim. Recent crime in my constituency, such as the recent burglary of Ballinteer community school, requires a policing and, in particular, a civic response.

All citizens should feel safe in their homes and on our streets, and as citizens we need to reclaim our cities and villages from those who too often use public spaces to congregate in drunken groups which scares off other users. Anti-social behaviour is not the concern of the middle class. Rather, it is the concern of every citizen who wishes to protect his or her community. I have seen communities that are active and united form alliances with local gardaí with sound results.

Fighting crime is a partnership between citizens, our communities and the Garda, and we are all stakeholders. I encourage citizens to come together and support the text alert initiative. This system, which is supported by neighbourhood watch, the Irish Farmers Association and Muintir na Tíre, allows the Garda to communicate with a community contact person who, in turn, contacts a community group. I welcome this recent initiative as a vital step in active citizenry having a role in their area in assisting the Garda.

Burglary and car theft are concerns for many in my constituency. As Deputy Fitzpatrick mentioned previously, I hope the recent Garda initiative, Operation Thor, will continue to reduce burglary offences particularly in the Dublin area. Increased resources for high powered Garda and undercover vehicles to tackle thieves are necessary. High visibility patrols in areas identified by the PULSE system as having a high incidence of burglaries will deter crime. I note that total burglary offences have decreased from 27,635 in 2014 to 26,246 in 2015. That is encouraging, but we must do more to encourage a downward trajectory in the figures.

I was a student studying law at the time of the murder of Veronica Guerin, who was a driven, passionate journalist, a wife, and a mother. There was a sense that this criminality could not go on and that something radical had to be done. That was not just the response of Government and policy makers, but was a feeling in every household and every street in the country. I was captivated by the use of civil law to combat the proceeds of crime under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996. The use of the courts in a civil setting and under the civil standard of the burden of proof, which as we know is the balance of probability, to determine whether money seized was legitimately earned or the proceeds of crime was revolutionary and yet such a simple concept. Real results were achieved in conjunction with the Criminal Assets Bureau.

As a lawyer, I am always interested in what a system can do to solve a problem. I fully support the Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Act 2015, as referred to by Deputy Naughton, which is targeted at repeat burglars and will require consecutive sentencing for burglars charged with multiple offences. The new law will allow the court to refuse bail for offenders who have a burglary conviction and two pending charges. For too long criminals with convictions for multiple offences benefited from the charges being lumped together and dealt with by consecutive sentences. Each crime is an individual crime and an individual citizen wronged in the commission of that crime and merits more consideration for an individual sentence.

I welcome the commitment of the Minister for Justice and Equality to modernise and streamline the bail laws. The bail Bill 2015 contains new powers to arrest without warrant for breach of bail conditions. Electronic monitoring, known as tagging, has been effective and cost effective in other jurisdictions and the bail Bill will provide for that to be applied as a condition of bail when necessary.

I welcome the fact that the Government formation talks, in which I have been involved, include a commitment to increase Garda numbers to 15,000 and to invest in CCTV and mandate the Policing Authority to review the dispersal of Garda stations. I hope the reopening of the Garda station in Stepaside in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown will be seriously considered.

I am greatly relieved that the 2015 figures show a significant drop in homicide offences from 80 to 57. That is a relief to me as I have seen the tragic effects of murder on the families left behind. The 2015 figures show a modest improvement in crime trends on the previous year and a noticeable decrease in homicide. However, in welcoming the reductions we must always remember that every crime is unacceptable and every crime has a negative effect. Although I cherish the fact that An Garda Síochána is an unarmed force, the need for specialist units to tackle gun crime is a reality of our time. Work on establishing an additional dedicated armed support unit for Dublin is continuing. The Garda has in the past successfully faced down criminal gangs who believed they were above the law. Every one of us has a role to play in reducing crime. We all own our country and in co-operation with the Garda, communities and people can make a real difference.

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