Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

The Minister claims the Fine Gael Party's motion was tendentious and opportunistic, despite his agreeing that gun and gangland crime is a major problem. He also agrees with the essential statement in the motion, that "adequate resources for our Garda, effective criminal legislation and innovative policing methods" are needed to tackle the crime problem. The Minister does not agree, however, with the claim in the motion that this and the last Government failed to tackle serious crime. Essentially, this is a tautology. The facts speak for themselves. Gangland killings, homicides, manslaughter offences and drug-related offences have all increased by 30%. The Government has failed. While I accept that phrasing a motion in these terms is provocative, it is a fair question. If it provokes the Minister to defend the Government's position and ensures a good debate, then the motion is well phrased and well prepared.

The objective of the motion is to focus and instill a sense of urgency in tackling this issue. The Government's amendment is defensive and displays an extreme sensitivity on the issue but misses the point. It is for this House to keep a focus on the issue. There are different facets to tackling the problem, but the most important is effective policing. The Minister claims there will be prioritisation and the establishment of targets and timescales. The reality is we are still waiting for the necessary facilities, such as the establishment of databases, to be provided to the Garda.

The establishment of timescales will provide a benchmark on which the House can measure progress when it next debates this issue. Wider issues have been raised such as prevention measures through education programmes, the prison system, rehabilitation, etc. These are fundamental but the essential issue is the rise in gun and gangland crime.

The Minister referred to establishing priorities for the Garda. I hope the House will have an opportunity to debate these and the Minister will report to the House on them.