Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My party supports the thrust of the motion. We have tabled an amendment to it and I hope that the Deputies in the House will support that.

Rural crime is on the increase. It is not a fantasy, but a fact. In a recent article dated 15 November 2017, I read that rural people stated that they wanted more resources put into community policing, stiffer sentences for repeat offenders and closer consultation between local authorities and An Garda Síochána.

Only last week, the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, met the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, ICSA, president, Mr. Kent. They were discussing the national agricultural crime survey, which revealed alarmingly that 45% of agricrime goes unreported for a variety of reasons. The article included the following quote:

These include little faith that the Gardaí have adequate resources to recover goods or catch the perpetrators and a sense that the justice system is not penalising these criminals sufficiently. We need to see these issues addressed urgently.

A Deputy mentioned earlier the horrific story of a 50 year old man living on his own who was burgled by four men who assaulted him before locking him into his own shed. Imagine the mental trauma that this man suffered. Imagine the mental scaring for all victims of rural crime. The mental trauma of any crime, in particular, rural crime, is sure to last a lot longer than any bruising or scars.

In an article, dated 7 November 2017, headlined, "Poll: Are Gardai under-resourced in the fight against rural crime?", the results were frightening. Some 88% of those surveyed responded, "Yes". These rural crimes are not exclusive to the farming community. Rural crime is in our villages and towns. It is in my own constituency of east Cork because we are not immune to these crimes either.

Sinn Féin has tabled an amendment to the motion which calls for greater powers and scope for joint policing committees as well as an increase in numbers which will ensure greater co-operation between communities and the Garda, and also to reinvest in the policing model, reverse the fall in the numbers of gardaí who assist the communities and play a crucial role assisting the community alert schemes. I would appeal to all Deputies to support our amendment.

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