Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I wish to ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform about the nature of the review he has sought on the matter of tiger kidnappings. Yesterday's event is the latest in what is an appalling ordeal for families to be put through. The sharp rise in tiger kidnappings in recent times is evidence of manifest failure in the criminal justice system. The most recent CSO statistics show that kidnappings increased by 86% in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008 and increased by 57% in the past 12 months. The State is clearly regarded as a soft touch when it comes to tiger kidnappings.

A delegation of senior gardaí and officials from the main banks met on 2 March this year to discuss protocols following a tiger kidnapping on 28 February that netted €7.6 million for raiders of Bank of Ireland on College Green. Following the raid, the Minister had a much-publicised meeting with the Garda Commissioner. Yesterday, as it has been on a number of occasions, the Bank of Ireland was targeted again. It is clearly considered something of a soft touch by those responsible and yesterday's raid was the fourth on a Bank of Ireland branch this year.

Following last week's raid, bank staff themselves called for a major review of bank security by the Government and Garda, as well as by the Bank of Ireland. I understand the Minister is to meet the Garda Commissioner tomorrow to discuss tiger kidnappings, a meeting which was planned before yesterday's raid. Has a limit been agreed in respect of how much money an employee can take out or handle in a bank? If not, the message to armed gangs is that tiger kidnappings are lucrative and rather easy to execute.

I ask the Minister to consider the issue of resources with particular reference to community gardaí. The raiders in these case have clearly put a watch on the victim's house before the kidnap. They had monitored their houses and the movements of officials and their families. There can be no doubt that the absence of community gardaí on the ground is helping raiders who stalk their victims in this way. How many gardaí are assigned to the Ballycallan district of Kilkenny, for example? At 6% of the force, there are simply not enough community gardaí working and living in communities. The €30 million cut in Garda overtime, the cap on Garda recruitment, the downgrading of rural stations and the brain drain from the senior echelons of the Garda force caused by large-scale retirement of senior officers is all combining to make life somewhat easier for criminals.

I ask in this short debate what has the Minister specifically done to address the problem of tiger kidnappings, apart from having a couple of meetings with the Garda Commissioner and bank figures? It has recently been reported that gardaí in the crime and security section at Garda Headquarters have been working on internal protocols to advise officers about dealing with tiger kidnappings for over a year, but I wonder have the guidelines yet been agreed, published and accepted. Have gardaí been given details of the agreed protocols between banks and Garda management on tiger raids? Some say they are investigating with one hand effectively tied behind their backs.

If an employee walks into the local branch where he or she works and withdraws money because his or her family has been taken hostage, the duty manager at the branch is expected to dial a set phone number. The number connects to the Garda sergeant on duty at Garda command and control, who then contacts crime and security section.

I ask the Minister to take this matter seriously. We cannot allow a situation where law and order in the State plummets to the depths we witnessed yesterday, last week and on a number of occasions this year. I ask the Minister to ensure that not only are there robust and proper protocols in place, but that these protocols are complied with and adhered to by the bank personnel. If not, then the head of security at our banks must consider their positions. Co-operation between the Garda and the banks under the direction of the Minister must ensure that these appalling acts are not only not tolerated, but are no longer an occurrence in our State.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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First, let me say that my sympathy goes out to Adrian Ronan, his wife, Mary, and to their children for the terrible ordeal they endured yesterday. As well as sympathising with them, I want to praise the courage they showed during the incident.

Tiger kidnappings are a despicable and vicious form of criminal activity which involve targeting working people and their families. Sadly, the Ronan family are just the latest people to have been caught up in them. While yesterday's incident was very traumatic, thankfully, no one was physically injured and no money was handed over to criminals. In other words, the tiger kidnap completely failed in its objective.

Deputies will appreciate that Garda inquiries are still ongoing so it would not be helpful for me to go into the details. However, a major Garda operation was launched to deal with the situation once it arose. An intensive investigation is continuing to bring the perpetrators to justice.

It is a demonstration of the ruthlessness and brutality of the criminals involved that they threaten the families or ordinary working people, even young children. I condemn them utterly and I know that the members of this House are at one in agreeing with me in that regard.

There is an implicit assertion in the Deputy's contribution that simply pouring more resources into this area would be a panacea for all our problems. The fact is that, even in the current extremely difficult financial circumstances, the Government is devoting enormous resources to the fight against crime. I have made it clear that it is an absolute priority in the allocation of resources within my Department. The programme for Government commits us to continuing to maintain policing services at the highest level possible.

The issue here is not primarily one of resources and it is disingenuous for anyone to imply otherwise. The key to curbing this type of incident is to ensure to the greatest extent possible that attempts to extort money in these circumstances are unsuccessful. To do so requires everyone involved to adhere to the protocols which have been drawn up by the Garda and the financial institutions. Deputy Flanagan said he wanted the protocols published. I am not sure that would be the wisest course.

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I do not want them published.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I thought the Deputy said that.

I do not underestimate the pressure which people who are the victims of tiger kidnappings find themselves under. It is very easy for us to be critical of them in those circumstances and easy to demand that they adhere to the protocols. Obviously, in circumstances where they are under extreme duress, they have to think of themselves and their loved ones first. However, these protocols are there to protect them and where they have been implemented, they have worked in recent times. The greatest advantage the criminals have is fear. I want to assure the House and the employees of financial institutions that the Garda Síochána's absolute priority when faced with an incident of this kind is to ensure that no harm comes to the victims.

Let me be clear. It is in the interests of all, in particular the staff of the financial institutions, that they follow the protocols which have been agreed. When we have a situation where the protocols are operated and these kidnaps are thwarted, it should help bring an end to the gangs attempting them. When people in banks find that one of their colleagues is in this situation, of course, at a human level, they want to do everything to help. However, the fact is that by operating the protocols they will help prevent these incidents happening and their own families or those of their colleagues being put at risk.

The Deputy may be aware that I intend to meet the chief executives of the various financial institutions tomorrow, a meeting that was scheduled before Tuesday's incident. I have asked the Garda Commissioner to attend as well. I will also meet representatives of banking employees in the coming week.

I do not doubt the commitment of the banks to the well-being of their staff, nor is their desire to help foil these crimes in question. However, I will be asking them what further measures are being put in place to ensure that only a limited amount of money is accessible to a single employee at any one time. I will once again be emphasising that the full implementation of the security arrangements for such incidents, on each and every occasion they arise, is vital to our efforts to make such raids a thing of the past.

In the face of such tactics, it is incumbent on the Government, the law enforcement agencies and the banking industry to work together to combat this threat. I have no interest in shirking my responsibility as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in facing up to these gangs. In addition to maintaining the high level of resources currently devoted to the fight against crime, I have enacted various Bills that will directly assist the Garda Síochána in its work in tackling such crimes. I cannot give details publicly of the activities being undertaken by the Garda in this regard, but I can assure the House that the force is sparing no effort in tackling gangs who carry out these deplorable acts.

The Garda Síochána is fully committed to combating this form of criminality as part of the concerted efforts being made to tackle organised criminal gangs. We are fortunate in having a highly professional police force with great experience of tackling organised criminal and subversive activity, and I am sure all Members will join with me in commending the efforts of the Garda Síochána in this respect.