Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire chun an Teach seo leis an díospóireacht tábhachtach seo. Undoubtedly, crime will be a priority for the Minister and the Government. Recent statistics were disappointing in that between 1996 and 2000 we saw a reduction of 27% in the level of indictable crime while now there has been an increase of 18% in one year. The Minister has initiated urgent analysis of the areas involved, but larceny and burglary account for over half of the increase, with more than 8,000 cases, while the number of drug offences has gone up by 33%, sexual offences by 83%, assaults by 93% and murders by 33%. As the Minister stated, however, detection rates for crimes such as murder are very high.

The adage that crime does not pay could be debated in the current climate. It has been debunked and is attributable to social change as much as anything else. When I was growing up, a teenager robbed some pennies from the church. The shame visited on his family and the stigma attached were a significant deterrent to those participating in crime. As we become more affluent, however, money rather than respect for values is a criterion for social measurement and, as a result, there is not the same respect for the law, personal property and individual rights.