Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which he and his Department have monitored the levels of break-ins to private households and/or commercial premises; the extent to which the number of such robberies has fluctuated in each of the past five years to date in both urban and rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6233/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that I am very conscious of the distress which burglary can cause to householders and the impact that property crimes have on businesses. The Garda authorities monitor these and all other crime trends carefully and the Garda Commissioner is deploying the substantial resources available to him in a targeted approach to confront those engaged in burglaries, in particular through Operation Fiacla. This Operation is the subject of regular monitoring and review by senior Garda management and is focused on identifying and targeting gangs involved in burglaries around the country so as to disrupt their activities and bring them before the Courts. I am informed that as of 31 January 2013, 3,903 persons have been arrested and 2,142 persons have been charged with burglary offences under Operation Fiacla.

Furthermore, the Garda National Crime Prevention Unit (NCPU) and Crime Prevention Officers at divisional level provide advice, information and support to organisations, businesses and individuals aimed at reducing burglary crime and the opportunity to commit burglary. These specially trained officers are skilled at identifying environmental design risks and provide advice on what mitigating action can be taken to reduce opportunities to commit burglary and other property crime. An Garda Síochána also works closely with Community Alert, Neighbourhood Watch and other local groups with a view to providing support and assistance in crime prevention.

Insofar as the particular statistics sought by the Deputy are concerned, the Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose. I have requested the CSO to provide the figures in question directly to him.