Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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4. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the strategic measures her Department is taking to tackle and prevent burglaries in rural Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41657/20]

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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I too congratulate the Minister on her good news. It is lovely to hear some positive news for a change during this pandemic. It is great news.

What strategic measures is the Department taking to tackle and prevent crime in rural Ireland, particularly burglaries?

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. A key pillar of the Programme for Government - Our Shared Future is building stronger and safer communities. I can assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to ensuring there is strong, visible community policing right across Ireland, both rural and urban.

To this end, the Department has secured an unprecedented budget of €1.952 billion for An Garda Síochána for 2021. This level of funding is enabling sustained and ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff. There are now some 14,600 Garda members and more than 3,000 Garda staff nationwide. Budget 2021 will allow for the recruitment of up to 620 new gardaí and an extra 500 Garda staff. There will be continued investment in the Garda fleet of €8 million in addition to the highest ever investment, of approximately €15 million, in the Garda transport fleet in 2020, a proportion of which relates to the Garda Covid response.

Although An Garda Síochána has provided very dedicated service by assisting in the national effort to combat the threat of Covid-19, ordinary policing has, of course, also continued throughout the period. The Deputy will be aware of Operation Thor, which is designed specifically to tackle the increase in the number of burglaries and associated criminal activity that usually occurs in the winter months by undertaking targeted enforcement and preventative activity. This year's winter phase of Operation Thor began on 1 October 2020 and will run until the end of March 2021. This initiative, which also features the Lock Up and Light Up public awareness campaign encouraging homeowners to protect their homes through the winter months when burglaries tend to increase, has led to a very significant and sustained decline in burglaries and property-related crime since its introduction in 2015. I am pleased to state that I have been informed by the Garda authorities that incidents of residential burglary have been reduced by 41%, to 52,816 incidents, while non-residential burglary is down 31%, to 19,672 incidents, in comparison with the equivalent period before the operation began.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The Deputy may be interested in the work of the national rural safety forum, which brings together An Garda Síochána, my Department and the Department of Rural and Community Development, alongside national and local organisations including the Irish Farmers Association, Muintir na Tíre and the GAA. The purpose of the forum is to develop a nationwide network for the distribution of crime prevention advice, to increase engagement within communities and to prevent and reduce opportunities for crime. This year, the Department has committed in the region of €150,000 to local communities that wish to apply for a rebate towards the costs associated with running their local text alert scheme, which is administered by Muintir na Tíre. This is a continuation of the annual funding made available by my Department for the text alert rebate scheme each year since 2016. More generally, I can advise the Deputy that the Department has for many years provided funding for the employment and associated costs of the national community alert programme, including the employment of regional development officers. These development officers provide support to community and text alert schemes and offer advice on how to establish new schemes.

As the Deputy may be aware, on 13 November the Minister, Deputy McEntee, announced that the Department will pilot three local community safety partnerships in Dublin’s north inner city, Longford and Waterford. These partnerships are the structures proposed under the new community safety policy of my Department to take a holistic approach to safety issues in partnership with the community. The pilot schemes will operate at local authority administrative level and will be made up of local representatives, a range of local services, community representatives and residents. Local community safety partnerships will take a strategic approach to their work in order that issues arising can be dealt with in a co-ordinated manner and addressed collectively by relevant service providers in partnership with the community.

It is welcome that the pandemic itself has had a notable impact on rates of burglary over the course of this year. Residential burglary has fallen in 2020, with a sharp reduction observed in March and April in response to the public health restrictions on work, travel, school and business. From March to August, inclusive, there were 43% fewer residential burglaries reported compared with the same period in 2019.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I accept that Operation Thor has certainly led to a decrease. My question relates to other preventative aspects of the problem. I and many others believe that one of the key deficits is the lack of community policing. That has been raised in the Chamber on several occasions. The Minister of State referred to extra recruits but is community policing in particular being considered? Are there plans to increase the number of community gardaí? For example, community policing levels in Laois-Offaly have dropped dramatically in recent years. Data that I obtained from the Department in response to a parliamentary question show that the number of such gardaí in the Laois-Offaly division in 2009 was 44, whereas the current figure is just seven. That represents a 500% drop in little more than a decade. It is very concerning for communities that feel isolated, particularly rural communities.

I have continually called on the Government to conduct an immediate review of the trespass laws, with the aim of strengthening the rights of farmers and landowners to protect their property and person. That is another issue of concern.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy may wish to note that as of 31 October 2020, there were 384 gardaí assigned to the Laois-Offaly division. This represents an increase of 38% since 2015, when there were 278 gardaí assigned to the division. On the same date, there were 38 Garda staff civilians assigned to the division, an increase of almost 73% since 2015, when 22 staff members were assigned to the division. The increase in Garda staff is allowing members of the Garda to return to front-line duties. The Deputy is correct that there were seven community gardaí in the Laois-Offaly at the end of October when her parliamentary question was replied to, but I am pleased to inform her that, since then, the number has doubled to 14. This represents a significant increase on the 2015 figure, which stood at four community gardaí. There has since been a significant increase, which I hope will alleviate the Deputy's concerns regarding community policing.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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I acknowledge that the number has increased. An increase is an increase but there were 44 community gardaí in the division in 2009 and there are currently 14. There is a need for more gardaí. There have been more instances of anti-social behaviour in estates. The issue was discussed by Offaly county councillors during the week. There is a desperate and urgent need for more community gardaí. I would like to see the number triple by next year because for the number to decrease from 44 in 2009 to seven currently is just not acceptable. The figure needs to increase in order to help to prevent burglaries and to tackle the scourge of anti-social behaviour, which is affecting many communities, both urban and rural. It seemed to escalate during the lockdown in particular. The community policing models needs to be prioritised above all else. I acknowledge there has been an increase from seven to 14. An increase is an increase. I hope that will continue and that there will be genuine efforts to get the figure back up to where it needs to be. There needs to be more than 44 community gardaí in the area.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I absolutely agree with the Deputy. I too wish to see a greater emphasis on community policing. Community gardaí play a very important role in communities. I expect to publish the youth justice strategy in the next month or two. It will provide a comprehensive approach to dealing with young people who are coming into the network of the Courts Service and the criminal justice system. I have set up the anti-social behaviour forum, which met recently for the first time and will meet again at the end of January or in early February. A number of rural groups are represented on it. We are seeking to comprehensively tackle the whole issue of anti-social behaviour from both a Department of Justice perspective and that of an An Garda Síochána.