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

Many Deputies have mentioned household crime, or burglaries. In the year ending in the third quarter of 2015, household crime was at its lowest level since the crime and victimisation survey which began in 1998, when it was 12%. We need to recognise that the fear of crime can be an issue for people and can, sometimes, be greater than what is happening in an area. I do not for a moment underestimate the impact one crime has on one person. One crime is one too many. We must recognise that there have been successes by the Garda Síochána regarding various categories of crime. There are other issues, as Deputies have identified, regarding sexual crimes and instances of domestic violence and we need to focus on those issues as well as continuing the fight against burglaries that we have seen.

See this speech in context