John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am tempted to say the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport does not seem to hold back when it comes to talking about matters under the operational control of the Commissioner, but that would take away from the time I want to devote to this issue. Having lived there all my life, I acknowledge that my constituency has seen unprecedented spikes in crime, particularly from mid-2014 to the end of 2014. The Minister might pass on to the Garda Commissioner and the gardaí in Rathfarnham and Tallaght in particular that I commend them on their work, particularly in effecting change in the burglary statistics, which is very welcome. That is evident on the ground anecdotally in terms of the reality of people's lives. However, there are still areas of serious concern. The rise in sexual offences seems to be continuing. Those offences are not categorised, and I do not know if the Minister is in a position to comment on them. Assaults, theft and related offences are still higher than in 2014. When I look at the figures for Rathfarnham Garda station in my constituency and in Tallaght Garda station, there has been a huge spike in theft from persons. Those figures are under street crimes, which I will comment on further shortly.

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