Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister and I am glad of the opportunity to speak on this very important issue. I am delighted that the debate thus far has been so constructive and positive. Given the seriousness of the issue, we need to put all our heads together to tackle crime.

It is a statistical fact that we have made significant progress since 1997 with a major decrease in the level of serious crime, though it is disappointing to hear the Minister say 2001 saw crime figures rise by 18%. That might be the result of an increase in funding with the amount included in the Garda Vote going from €472 million to €999 million in the current year.

A very important issue is the strength of the Garda which now stands at 11,700 and will, I hope, increase to 12,000 by the end of the year, as suggested. We have increased the number of gardaí by 900 since 1997 which has to be good because there is no better deterrent than the old one of the garda tramping the beat. When I last checked, the number of prison places had increased by 1,300 with a possible 700 more on the way. I hope this has put paid to the revolving door syndrome. During Deputy O'Donoghue's tenure as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform over the last five years, in excess of 45 Bills were enacted to serve in the war against crime.

I welcome the funding of €110 million allocated under the National Development Plan 2000 to 2006 for crime prevention and which is directed specifically at young offenders. The Minister's comments regarding the tragic murder in Coolock of young Alan Higgins, allegedly by a 15 year old, serve to remind us of the wisdom of that funding and the direction in which it is being spent. It is the belief of most Members of this House that public disorder and street violence by young male offenders is the most serious issue facing us. The problem is not unique to this country and the Minister alluded to the fact that the multi-faceted approach is the appropriate one, as all common sense analysis has proven during the years. We must involve our educationists and health and housing officials and consider, in particular, the design of housing estates. The housing estates that have cropped up in this city over the last 30 years have, in their own way, served to bring about a significant level of crime and caused the ghettoisation of certain communities, which has not helped. One does not want to pick out areas, but they are known and the statistics show that is the case.