Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. I am hopeful about the work he will do in this area, even though I am a member of the Opposition. I agree with him that there is a need for a multifaceted approach to tackling crime.

One aspect of tackling crime which was also raised by Senator Walsh is the role local authorities can play in preventing it. It is important that local authorities are resourced to do their work. Cutbacks in local authority funding were announced recently, which is not a good direction to go if we are serious about tackling crime.