Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important issue and I thank the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, for his presence. The issues I raise will not be news to him as I know he prioritises this matter as much as I do myself, not only as Minister for Justice and Equality but as a local Deputy also.

In recent weeks a spate of crime has been committed in counties Offaly and Laois, understandably increasing the anxiety of local communities around the number of gardaí available to gather intelligence and investigate each crime adequately. Examples of the type of crime favoured by the criminals are vans being stolen or damaged with tools stolen in Tullamore, Birr, Cloghan and Kinnity. The Bord na Móna workshop in Boora was burgled and it appears that tools were the target. Additionally, cash and-or jewellery was stolen in burglaries in Ferbane, Ballinagar, Clara, Rath and Birr to name but a few. I know the Minister is very familiar with County Laois where, for example, in Rosenallis a house was ransacked, a Bobcat machine and power tools were stolen in Wolfhill and Mountrath golf club did not escape with a car broken into and a laptop and jewellery stolen.

Policing is something that we all rely on to keep society functioning properly. As someone who has been a victim of robbery myself, I acknowledge the brilliant members of An Garda Síochána who provide calm reassurance to victims and make every effort to solve the crime. To that end I acknowledge the successes achieved recently in that there was a cannabis find in Cloghan, a man has been arrested after a Tullamore burglary and another young man was charged with recent break-ins to petrol stations in Laois.

In order for us to prevent and combat that type of activity co-operation between communities, local authorities and members of An Garda Síochána is essential. I acknowledge the community text alert groups that are being established, many as a result of local burglaries, which I outlined. However, I advise local communities not wait to have such an experience but to establish a group as a preventative measure as there are financial supports available to those invaluable local groups as an important measure in support of crime prevention in rural communities. Many communities in my home county of Offaly are very active in using the system for crime prevention and I commend the excellent work of the people involved in helping to safeguard local communities. I know as well as anyone the positive impact text alert groups are having on rural communities and I am aware of the excellent work being done in Offaly by local groups in tandem with the hard work of the local Garda Síochána.

The new CCTV fund announced by the Department of Justice and Equality is certainly an additional method for specific and suitable locations. However, I am getting feedback that the application process is overly bureaucratic. It is vital to ensure that community groups are given necessary supports to assist with the application process if they feel the infrastructure would benefit their area. I have urged local communities to liaise with their local council and An Garda Síochána for assistance to ensure the schemes allow new technologies to fuse with the traditional value of active community engagement to keep Laois and Offaly safe. In order to have continued success with Operation Thor, I welcome the sight of new vehicles in our area also as An Garda Síochána needs the best of equipment in its endeavours to fight crime.

I acknowledge the work of the midlands Muintir na Tíre development office which works closely with An Garda Síochána in the provision of community care, community safety and crime prevention. I also acknowledge the work of the IFA whose members are often targets for criminals. It has developed an annual campaign to increase security awareness among farmers stressing the importance of being safety conscious and marking, photographing and securing property to reduce the chance of a theft occurring. We can all follow its advice whether we are farmers or not.

It is important to take this opportunity to acknowledge the excellent and brave work of the emergency services who have worked and are continuing to work on our behalf in dangerous conditions during the unprecedented Storm Ophelia. I know that members of the services responded to calls and put their own safety at risk to assist members of the public in the Laois-Offaly division and across the country.

It is crucial that members of An Garda Síochána are available on the ground to succeed in combatting and solving crime but we need enough of them, deployed in all Garda stations in rural Ireland to continue to do so.

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