Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

According to the figures that have been provided to me by the Department of Justice, there was a 6% increase in the ten years previous to 2025. In addition to the specific measures I mentioned which are taking place in Limerick - I have gone through the different Garda operations - a number of key actions have been taken as part of our plan to tackle organised crime and the crime groups behind those types of acts. They include legislation that has been brought through this House, for example to increase the maximum sentence for conspiracy to murder from ten years to life in prison; to tackle those who are directly engaged in gangland and drug-related crime; to enact the Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Act to criminalise the grooming of children into a life of crime; to draft new laws which will provide for the use of biometric technologies, including facial recognition technology; to investigate certain drug offences; and to roll out a support programme to break the link between gangs and the children they recruit. Earlier this year, the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, and the Department of Justice launched a new merged and expanded youth diversion project in Rathkeale and west Limerick, along with the opening of two new projects in nearby east Clare and north Tipperary. We will achieve the target set out in the youth justice strategy of full national coverage of youth diversion projects. These are also an important part of what the Deputy spoke about earlier in relation to the social aspects of this and the need to invest not just in policing strategies but also in services underneath them. From the perspective of criminal assets, there is legislation to strengthen the State's ability to seize criminal assets and to target the proceeds of crime as well and this will also benefit Limerick.

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