Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue as it is highly topical. On the first day of a new Dáil term, people look to Deputies to provide some hope and positivity on the issue of dealing with crime. As I have stated previously, the Government is failing to address crime in rural areas and in the capital. People need to be given hope, particularly with regard to the crimes of burglary and assault.

Since the Dáil last met in July, shocking statistics have come to hand which show that crime is out of control. The Central Statistics Office, an independent body, reported that the incidence of burglary increased by 8% in the 12 months to the first quarter of 2015. Persons who had been freed on bail were found to have committed 8,077 burglaries in the period from 2011 to date. The issue is not only one of statistics, however, as there are real human stories behind these crimes. The previous speaker noted the unacceptable level of crime in Littleton, County Tipperary. A couple of weeks ago, a tragedy occurred in Doon in my constituency when a man by the name of John O'Donoghue came across a burglary being committed in his house in broad daylight and died as a result of the shock of being confronted by the two burglars. The garda who apprehended the persons carrying out the burglary had to use his own car, which is far from acceptable. It was reported in the news yesterday that a 90-year-old woman in County Wicklow, Ms Eva Sutton, had spent the past two weeks in hospital after being beaten up in her home. We are told she may not return home.

More gardaí and tougher legislation are needed. I proposed legislation providing for mandatory sentences for those convicted of assaulting elderly people or committing serial burglaries. It is high time we sent out a strong legislative message to the small number of people who are scouring the countryside and terrorising old people in burglaries that we are serious about this issue. I ask the Minister to do something about this, because Government action in this area has not been good enough.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, who regrets that she cannot be present as she is attending an extraordinary meeting of European Union justice and home affairs Ministers to discuss the very serious migration crisis. The Minister is, however, grateful to the Deputies for raising these important matters in the House.

The Minister recognises that burglary is a persistent and highly damaging crime, particularly in highly distressing cases in which householders are assaulted by the criminals involved. Several such cases were mentioned by Deputy Niall Collins. The Minister is also conscious of the serious impact of these crimes on families and communities and recognises public concern about crime in Littleton and Thurles, County Tipperary, and elsewhere.

The Minister is in close contact with the Garda Commissioner to ensure the policing response is effective and Garda operations take account of evolving trends and patterns in burglary offences in both rural and urban areas. Earlier this year, the Minister initiated a broad and urgent review of the criminal justice system's response to the problem of burglaries. This included a focus on inter-agency measures for the management of prolific offenders, visible policing, crime prevention support for communities and an examination of legislative issues. One important fact which emerged during this review was the finding of the Garda Síochána analysis service that 75% of burglaries are committed by 25% of burglars. Targeting this cohort of repeat offenders has the potential to significantly reduce the number of burglaries being committed.

In response, the Minister recently published the Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Bill 2015. This legislation targets repeat burglary offenders through bail measures and provisions concerning the imposition of consecutive sentencing for repeat burglary offending. The key objective of this legislation is to target a cohort of persistent offenders who prey on law-abiding householders and clearly have no concern for the damage and distress that they inflict on others. It is hoped to have this new legislation enacted as soon as possible.

A newspaper opinion piece published in The Sunday Timeson 20 September reflected on the effects of burglaries in rural communities and concluded that the Minister's new Bill would be a lever for change which would have the effect of "...obliging the criminal justice system to lock up violent, repeat criminals, while dealing more humanely with non-violent offenders - it should be welcomed as a progressive measure. And rural Ireland will be a safer place on winter nights."

In recent times, Garda strategy to counter burglaries and related crimes has been co-ordinated under Operation Fiacla, which is a national operation targeting burglary by using an intelligence and analysis led approach. In support of Operation Fiacla, there are burglary-related operations in place in each Garda division.

Special targeted patrols have been implemented with the assistance of Garda national support services against criminal groups. These arrangements have also targeted the use of motorways by criminal gangs and have contributed to the arrest of a number of high-priority suspects.

The sustained Garda response to criminal activity under Operation Fiacla has produced many successes. As of 31 July 2015, Operation Fiacla had led to 14,050 arrests, with 7,996 charges being brought against suspects. In addition, €700,000 has been allocated for new specialised vehicles to support gardaí in responding to current and emerging crime threats, including burglaries committed by highly-mobile gangs. This Government has invested nearly €29 million in new Garda vehicles since 2012, with 370 new vehicles coming on stream this year. The Government's investment in new Garda vehicles clearly supports the delivery of highly-mobile Garda patrols which must be the priority for rural policing.

Of course, the fight against burglaries and crime generally will be aided greatly by the Government's decision to recruit new gardaí. Since September 2014, 400 new gardaí have entered the Garda College in Templemore. Of these, 295 having already attested and are now working in communities nationwide. In addition, 150 more recruits are due to enter the Garda College next month. This additional recruitment will bring to 550 the total number of gardaí that will have been recruited under this Government between September 2014 and 2015. In addition, a series of reforms are helping to free up more gardaí for front-line policing. For example, the civilianisation of Garda immigration functions and the transfer of certain functions to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service will release 125 gardaí for other duties. All of these measures, including new legislation and targeted Garda operations, will strengthen the Minister's carefully considered approach to dealing with serial offenders and supporting improved community safety.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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The ploughing championships are on over three days this week as we are all well aware. The issue of crime is a central theme of discussion at the ploughing championships and, given the nature of the event, crime in rural areas in particular. That is a huge indictment of Government and a statement from rural Ireland as to how bad is the situation. The Government needs to wake up and really take notice of that. In relation to Garda numbers, there were more gardaí outside Leinster House today for a phantom protest than will be found in many rural areas tonight. That is simply not acceptable. We need to have more recruitment to get back up to 14,000. The fact that the moratorium was held in place while recruitment continued in the Defence Forces was not acceptable. The Garda Reserve is being under-utilised. We should increase the number of reserve gardaí and bring more into the mainstream force. Many of them are being locked out as part of the recruitment process, which is not acceptable when they are giving of their time and service. We also need to increase the numbers up to at least 2,000 reserve gardaí. These are issues I want the Minister of State to take on board.

When he is replying, perhaps the Minister of State can address the following question. If he cannot, he might obtain the information afterwards. There have been some suggestions that up to 40% of directions to prosecute and prosecutions taken have resulted in acquittals. This is in relation to burglaries and related offences. Can the Minister of State outline the percentage of prosecutions directed by the DPP in the past 12 months which have not resulted in convictions? He can revert to me afterwards if he does not have the information to hand.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I remind Deputy Collins that rural crime did not commence when this Government took over.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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That is acknowledged, but it has increased exponentially.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Bernard Durkan):

The Minister of State to reply.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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There were other operations by the Garda in the past which were quite effective in coming to grips with rural crime. On behalf of the Minister, I thank the Deputies for raising these important matters this evening and for referring to specific cases. I will be very happy to share the points they made with the Minister when I meet her tomorrow. I will certainly bring Deputy Collins's specific questions to her attention and obtain a reply for him.

I have already set out the comprehensive strategy being implemented by the Minister and the Garda Commissioner to confront those who engage in burglary and similar crimes at the expense of the law abiding majority of our people. Before we conclude, I note that in addition to the new legislation introduced by the Minister to target burglary specifically, the heads of the new bail Bill were published in July. This Bill aims to further strengthen the law to protect the public against crimes committed by offenders while on bail. As well as pursuing a robust strategy to disrupt criminal gangs engaged in burglary, An Garda Síochána is working with communities and partners such as the Irish Farmers Association and utility companies to target other crime trends including the theft of electricity cables and metal theft from dwellings, farms and business premises. In conclusion, the Minister wishes to underline her determination to continue to oppose criminals who violate people's homes. She will continue to support An Garda Síochána through improved legislation and the allocation of the increased resources the Government is now providing.