Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate him on his restatement of the commitment given in the programme for Government. While he did not have to restate it for those of us on this side of the House, the fact that he has done so will probably change the tune of the Opposition who will have to find something else to crow about. I read nothing which stated the Minister would meet his commitment during the first two or two and a half years of the term of this Government. I did read he would meet his commitment in five years and I believe that will be the case.

Feeling safe in our homes is probably the most important issue to Members on all sides of the House. It is more important to people living alone in isolated areas and to the elderly in particular. Attacks on such people are cowardly and despicable. The Minister's words in terms of the provision of extra gardaí will be of great comfort to those families charged with responsibility for the elderly and those living in isolated areas. Such people need reassurance and support and they are getting it from the Minister.

Neighbourhood watch and community alert schemes have done a good job. However, the appearance of patrol cars and gardaí on the beat provides a greater degree of contentment. We on this side of the House never doubted that the promises made would be delivered on. It is a statistical fact that crime levels are decreasing and have been doing so since 1997. The most recent crime which comes to mind is that which took place in north County Dublin. It was an unspeakable act and the Garda have our support in their efforts to find the perpetrator or perpetrators as soon as possible.

The budget for the Garda Síochána has increased from €450 million in 1997 to more than €1 billion today. That in itself speaks volumes. Garda strength, as has already been stated, is at an all-time high and will reach 12,200 by the end of this year. It must be noted that the Garda lost in the region of 67 gardaí from the time the previous Government took office in 1993. We on this side of the House do not need to be lectured about what we are doing in terms of Garda numbers.

Prison places have also increased by 1,300 in the past two years with a promise of a further 700 places which I am sure have since been delivered on. A great deal of legislation has passed through this House, much of which deals with the provision of a much safer and better environment for all. We have passed more than 50 Bills since 1997. The prison programme was ceased during the term of office of the previous Government in 1993-97. Not one prison place was created during that time. The response at that time was the introduction of the revolving door. The Minister provided an additional €2 million for overtime in prisons in 2003 thereby providing an additional 55,000 Garda hours targeted at Dublin and Limerick in particular. The emergency response unit which was at the time dealing with gangland crime received the bulk of that money.

The great work done by the Criminal Assets Bureau must also be acknowledged. The fact that a major gangland individual is scratching and scraping in court to try to hold on to his ill-gotten gains illustrates how well the CAB is working. There was a time when the Opposition did not agree with the setting up of the Criminal Assets Bureau. It took the tragic death of Veronica Guerin to bring them round.