Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. Fianna Fáil supports this Bill to address the significant rise in burglary offences witnessed in the past three years. Sadly, the number of burglary offences continues to soar within the State. The CSO recently published figures show a national increase of 8.4%. I wish to speak about the constituency of Dublin Rathdown in which the Stepaside Garda station was closed. I have called that a folly on a number of occasions and Fianna Fáil is committed to reopening the Garda station there or, alternatively, to building a new custom-built Garda station in the area that would have three cells and whatever else is needed.

Exit 13 on the M50 is used by burglars who travel freely and quickly into, and out of, the constituency. It is unbelievable. At the two public meetings I held on burglaries in the area, more than 60% of those who attended said they had been burgled or knew somebody who had been burgled. It is a daily occurrence. It has left many older people in constant fear of being burgled. I always recommend to older people in the constituency that they put on their alarm early in the evening and do not to answer the door. Fianna Fáil has proposed that CCTV cameras be installed at motorway exits to assist in the detection and prosecution of criminal activity. In Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, for instance, that would include exit 13 off the M50. In the case of public transport, the operators of the Luas have inspectors on the tram who observe passengers and monitor criminal activity, but they cannot intervene where a crime is committed. There is very little they can do if they see somebody committing an offence, such as pick-pocketing, or notice a person they suspect was involved in a crime in the area. We are proposing that gardaí be seconded from local stations to deal with cases, for example, where a person suspected of committing a crime is frequenting the Luas. Unlike the security people monitoring the trams, gardaí have the power to arrest people in those circumstances. From my own experience, the community gardaí in Dundrum do a marvellous job.

Fianna Fáil intends to bring forward legislation to introduce longer sentences for those who assault elderly persons, who are among the most vulnerable in both rural and urban communities. In addition, we propose to introduce mandatory minimum sentences for persons convicted of burglary offences. The neighbourhood watch schemes operating in many areas serve a very useful purpose but my party is committed to establishing a national neighbourhood watch directorate to centrally support and drive community initiatives across the country. Gardaí do an excellent job in nurturing and supporting local neighbourhood watch schemes but it would be excellent to have an overall directive. In a similar vein, Crimestoppers is an international organisation which has a great deal to offer in terms of preventing crime within communities. However, it does not receive adequate funding in this country to let people know what it is capable of doing and to get them involved.

The rate of burglaries in the State is a very serious issue. As I said, criminals are using the motorways and the Luas to move around the place with ease. I support the Bill on behalf of Fianna Fáil.