Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 568: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of crimes recorded across all headings in Ballina Garda division during 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6928/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The introduction of the PULSE computer system by the Garda Síochána in 1999 has led to more complete and comprehensive recording of crimes reported than was previously the case. Consequently, the statistics provided for 1997 are not comparable to statistics provided for 2000 and subsequent years.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the following tables show the four offence group totals for 1997 and the ten headline group totals for 2000-2005 inclusive. I am pleased to note that the tables show a decrease of 10% in the headline crime rate for 2005 in the Ballina Garda district when compared with 2004.

Any interpretation of the crime figures should factor in the increase in our population in the past ten years. In 1995 with a population of almost 3.6 million people, there were 29 crimes per 1,000 of the population. In 2005, with a population of over 4.1 million, there were 24.6 crimes per 1,000 of the population, a reduction of 4.4 crimes per 1,000 of the population.