Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I pay tribute to the late Garda Tony Golden, the late Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe and the 87 members of the Garda force who lost their lives protecting us. I hope the Bill will do what it is supposed to do and help to put a stop to the revolving door. There is nothing more frustrating than when one's house is burgled because one's home is one's castle. It is protected by the Constitution, which states, "The dwelling of every citizen is inviolable and shall not be forcibly entered save in accordance with law."

The previous speaker spoke about closure of Garda stations but Fianna Fáil closed more Garda stations than we did. I do not agree with the view on the closure on Garda stations. Compared to 2011, before Garda stations were closed, the number of burglaries and aggravated burglaries recorded has fallen by 0.4% and 5.7%, respectively. It is preferable to have a garda sitting in a highly-equipped car with a mobile phone and IT - one of the new 640 plus vehicles put on the road this year - rather than sitting in a station with an old phone and no IT.

The technology is available whereby gardaí could log on to the PULSE system from their cars through a secure mobile hand-held unit. This should be available to every community garda. Gardaí should not have to travel back to the station to log on to their computers. It is like being back in the Dark Ages and it must change. An extra €205 million has been allocated this year for ICT, 640 new vehicles have been provided and €1.8 million has been allocated for replacement and upgrade of surveillance equipment.

I have much to say about repeat offenders. Some 25% of offenders are responsible for 75% of property offences and the rate of recidivism is at 79%. Tagging was mentioned. It would be much cheaper if one could do that. The DNA legislation will go a long way. When gardaí come out to one's house to take fingerprints, what happens after that? The new system and the new legislation will go a long way in that regard.

The Minister of State might make a statement on automatic number plate recognition, ANPR. I raised it at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly recently. According to the Automobile Association, there are cameras all around the country but they are not linked to Garda stations. If one computer could talk to another one, it would save a lot of money also. If automatic number plate recognition was linked to the technology the Garda has and to the speed cameras, one could cut down on the number of burglaries. The JARC system that has been introduced and the inter-agency offender management community programme will go a long way to addressing that.

Senator Wilson spoke about free legal aid. One should hit people in their pockets. If they are on social welfare, there should be even a minimal deduction. For every offence, let it creep up and hit them where it hurts. If repeat offenders can go to prison for a day, or an hour like the two Deputies, it says it is all right and that they can get away with it.

I welcome the €397,000 extra the Minister has put into community alert. Community alert and people working together and keeping an eye on what is happen are important. We should have a programme to address the 79% recidivism rate. The individual must decide to transform himself or herself. There are programmes in America and in England, namely, cognitive transformation theory for desistance from crime, which work. One could work with communities because many communities know the repeat offender. Rather than locking them up and throwing away the key, it is preferable to do something with the individual and to let him or her try to transform himself or herself. There are some cognitive transformation desistance programmes in action and we should look at them.

As was stated, there is no point in having the legislation if we do not have places to put people but I do not think that is what it is about. It is about how we prevent crime.