Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move:

"That Dáil Éireann:notes:

— the fear that exists in local communities posed by the threat of crime to people and their property;

— the failure of the Government to respond to the need for extra, and more visible, Gardaí on the ground in local communities;

— the increased ability of criminal gangs to access rural areas because of the improved motorway network;

— the absence of any Garda stations in large areas of rural communities; and

— the growing intolerance of local communities to organised acts of criminal violence and burglary;

recognises:

— the success of An Garda Síochána in fighting certain types of crime provided they are given political priority by the Government;

— the support that exists in local communities for an Garda Síochána and the fight against crime;

— the organized and repeated criminal activity being carried out by criminal gangs; and

— that the closure of many rural Garda stations has made many rural communities more vulnerable to criminal activity; and

calls for:

— an increase of the number of Gardaí on the ground in local communities;

— the reopening of Garda stations in rural areas that are vulnerable to criminal activity and without a nearby 24 hour Garda presence;

— the increase in funding and support for Garda controlled CCTV that can be used by An Garda Síochána to detect and deter criminal activity;

— the encouragement and promotion of GPS tracking and location devices to help protect against the robbery of farming machinery and equipment;

— the amendment of our bail laws to make electronic monitoring a condition of bail, where an application for bail is made by a person who has been convicted of a serious offence in the ten years prior to the application, or where the person is alleged to have committed the offence whilst on bail for a separate offence; and

— the introduction of a mechanism whereby the cost of the legal aid granted can be recouped from a person charged and convicted of an offence if that person’s financial means substantially change."

I welcome the opportunity to raise the issue of rural crime and the fear that people are exposed to in rural communities due to the threat posed by crime. Since I have been justice spokesperson for Fianna Fáil, I have been very aware and conscious of the level of fear that exists among communities, particularly but not exclusively rural communities, due to the threat posed to them by crime. The particular crime which is most prevalent and causes most fear is that of burglary or aggravated burglary. We saw recently a vicious example of it in County Offaly in respect of Richie McKelvey. However, as the House will hear from my colleagues, it is not the case that this just operates in small sections of Ireland. Unfortunately, it is common throughout the country.

We need to recognise that there is an obligation on the State, the Government and the Oireachtas to take steps in response to the threat posed by crime. We have seen before how the State can respond positively and successfully to criminal activity when there is political consensus and the Garda is adequately resourced. We saw that in respect of the Kinahan-Hutch feud, where the Garda has been very successful because of the resourcing it received. We also see it at a lower level in respect of road traffic offences, where the Garda is very effective, notwithstanding recent issues, in terms of observing whether road traffic law is obeyed.

We now need to apply the same enthusiasm and diligence to the issue of burglary and those crimes which are in the middle and do not get as much public attention but which require just as much State support. The motion before the House this evening seeks to do a number of things. We have a number of proposals that we would like the Government to take on board. First and foremost, we believe it is essential that we get more gardaí on our streets. The presence of gardaí on streets acts as a great form of confidence to people in communities, particularly rural communities.

Second, I think that we can agree the decision made by the Government in 2013 to close rural Garda stations was a mistake. The saving that was achieved was minimal but the effect it has had on the confidence of people and local communities has been great. They are living in great fear, particularly when they believe, and they are correct in this regard, that they do not have access to a live, active Garda station unless there is one which could be about 30 or 40 miles away.

We also need to get more innovative in fighting crime. Criminals are using technology and we need to use technology to fight it. The best example of that is CCTV. The Government has rolled out a scheme for local communities. We need to have a system of CCTV schemes operated by the Garda so that it can use the footage gained by CCTV cameras to fight and detect crime.

We also need to look at the bail laws. I have stated previously that 13% of the people who committed crimes in 2016 committed them while out on bail. I can give further examples but I do not want to given the time. However, something needs to be done about it. We will bringing forward legislation next week or the week after setting out our proposals to amend the Bail Act.

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