Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 237: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the headline offences for Garda districts (details supplied) for the years 2004 and 2005 in County Limerick. [13711/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that the following tables provide the total number of headline offences, by group, recorded and detected in the Garda districts of Bruff, Newcastle West and Askeaton for the years 2004 and 2005. 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.

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 approximately 3.6 million people, there were 29 crimes per 1,000 of the population. In 2005, with a population of approximately 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. To put this in context, during the two full years of the rainbow coalition Government, with a population of 600,000 less than at present, the headline crime figures were as follows; 102,484 in 1995 and 100,785 in 1996.

The headline offence of homicide includes not only murder and manslaughter but the other homicide offences of infanticide, abortion, attempted murder and threat to murder. During the two year period shown in the tables no case of murder or manslaughter was recorded in the Garda districts concerned. Figures provided for 2005 are provisional, operational and liable to change.