Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. It is great to have somebody from my area to respond to it because he knows exactly what I am talking about.

The reason I raise this Commencement matter is the level of fear among people in rural Ireland about crime.At the outset, I acknowledge the work done by the Minister, her Department and the Garda in an effort to combat rural crime. In particular, I acknowledge the provision of €5.3 million for a further 260 Garda vehicles and the €60 million Garda building and refurbishment programme that has been put in place. I also acknowledge the reopening of the Garda training college in Templemore, the 550 new gardaí who will graduate this year and the 600 who will graduate next year. That is all great and shows the Minister, her Department and the Garda are serious about tackling crime. However, coming from a rural area in County Kerry, as do I, the Minister of State will be aware of the fear in people's hearts. It is not so much crime but the fear of crime that is getting to people. I have to hand some figures from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, from 2014. As they are somewhat older, I am aware the levels probably have reduced since 2014. These figures show 420 crimes per month were reported on farms nationwide for the first six months of 2014. Within that figure, there were 1,720 cases of farm machinery theft reported, as well as 218 vehicle thefts, 280 cases of non-aggravated burglaries, 261 thefts of diesel, 48 thefts of livestock, six thefts from persons and one case of aggravated burglary. While these are figures affecting the farming community, it does not stop there but moves throughout the community.

In the past, a grant was forthcoming from the Department of Social Protection for security locks, panic alarms and help for security for the elderly. However, the reason I brought forward this matter is while some people can afford to install electronic gates and security alarms, very many people cannot and no price can be put on a person's peace of mind. Only last Monday evening, I met a man who told me he was six months from the age of 70 and takes a shotgun to bed with him. The Minister of State should note this is an example from County Kerry. He takes the shotgun to bed with him every night but nobody should be obliged to live like that or to be obliged to live in fear that he or she will be broken into or that something will happen. If people had security alarms in place, it would give them a little peace of mind. They will not stop burglaries, because these criminals are well able to deal with burglar alarms and security alarms, but at least it might deter them. Moreover, it would give people living in houses some peace to know the alarm is in place and will go off if someone tries to enter the property and will link up with the Garda station.

I acknowledge the reason and logic behind the closure of Garda stations but as the Minister of State is aware, the actual presence of a Garda station with a garda meant a great deal to people living in rural Ireland. When that has been taken away, they believe something has been taken from them despite the possibility a Garda patrol vehicle may be patrolling the area. Nevertheless, they consider that the presence of a Garda station and the presence of a garda during the day, for however long that may have been, was a deterrent to burglars and crime of any sort. The possibility of some form of grant aid towards the cost of installing security alarms people should be considered. This could be means tested and restricted to those with an annual income of less than €45,000 or €50,000 perhaps. It would be of help and while I acknowledge not everybody still would be able to afford it, it would go some way towards helping people.