Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this very timely debate.

No matter who we listen to in this debate, we hear very clear and graphic examples of how crime, particularly in rural areas, is having a detrimental impact on people's lives. Earlier this evening, I spoke with a businessperson who owns a medium-size business in Glasson outside Athlone. In the past few weeks, his business, which is providing employment for 22 people, was ransacked at 2 a.m. one morning. He complimented the gardaí on the work they have done since he was burgled, but this was his fourth time to be burgled in three years. The business is on the outskirts of an extremely large town and while he complimented the gardaí, the fact is they are under such pressure that they are not able to carry out the monitoring that needs to be carried out every night of the week.

No matter who one speaks to, whether it is a farmer or another person who has been burgled in rural Ireland, the point is made that sanctions are too lenient. It seems the law is coming down on the side of the people carrying out the crime, not the people affected by the crime. A number of years ago I posed a parliamentary question about the number of times someone can avail of free legal aid. There does not seem to be any cap or restriction in terms of the number of times someone can avail of free legal aid. Taxpayers' money is being spent representing repeat offenders, which is very wrong and needs to be tackled.

Our citizens across rural Ireland are living in fear. Whether one picks up a local newspaper like the Westmeath Examiner, Westmeath Topic, Westmeath Independentor the Longford Leader, or listens in to Midlands 103 FM - I am sure it is the same for the Minister of State in her constituency - week after week, there is another example of a crime committed, another example of a family left shaking, and another example of how the State is failing in its duty to protect elderly people in their homes and protect businesses that are supplying much-needed employment in our communities. The time for promises is over; the time for delivery is now. We need to see a huge increase in the number of gardaí policing our streets so we can keep people safe in their homes.

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