Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take the Deputy’s points about Kilkenny. It is worth reading the Thor figures for the whole country, including the Kilkenny areas. We have seen reductions. That builds on the experience we have had before. Where there are dedicated police operations, such as Thor, where there are mobile patrols, intelligence and police working closely with the other stakeholders and the community is involved, we can get reductions. We can beat this and have in many areas. There is more work to be done. This continues; the fight against crime does not stop. The Deputy is right that it involves using a variety of methods, modern technology and increased use of closed circuit television, CCTV, particularly at strategic locations throughout the country. We are examining that and I expect to make an announcement about it later this year. It is a question of making sure all the different elements come together and we need more gardaí too.

See this speech in context