Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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141. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her views on a matter (details supplied) with regard to the rise in crime in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13543/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that Operation Thor is a nationwide initiative to tackle burglary and related criminal activity. It was designed and launched after I initiated a broad review of our response to burglary and it represents a major step-up in our response to criminals who have sought to target householders in many areas of the country.

An Garda Síochána carefully monitors the activities of criminal groups affecting all areas of the country, including Co. Kerry, and are implementing strong policing measures to disrupt and dismantle their networks. As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the deployment of Garda resources to specific areas, but I am assured that Garda management constantly monitor the distribution of resources in the light of crime trends and overall policing needs. As the Deputy is aware, very significant resources have been provided to the Garda authorities, including an overtime allocation of €88.5 million in the current year, to support large-scale policing operations, including Operation Thor. If I might illustrate the scale of Garda activity against burglary and property crime – under Operation Thor we have seen more than 67,000 targeted checkpoints nationwide, and in the region of 4,000 arrests connected to a range of offences which, in addition to burglary, have included handling stolen property, possession of firearms and drugs offences.

Operation Thor has particularly targeted mobile gangs engaged in burglary and related crimes and it is encouraging to note that since the launch of the operation in November 2015, the burglary figures have shown a significant downward trend. Indeed, the most recent CSO official recorded crime statistics for Q3 of 2016 show a decrease of 31% in burglary for the twelve months ending 30 September 2016 compared to the previous twelve month period. This reflects the success of the concerted Garda drive against crime being implemented under Operation Thor. In fact, CSO figures for the Kerry Garda Division show a reduction in Burglary of 56% in the first nine months of 2016 when compared to the same period in 2015, coinciding with the introduction of Operation Thor.

As part of the concerted strategy to combat burglary, I made it a priority to secure the enactment of specific legislation targeting prolific burglars in the Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Act2015. These provisions are now available to Gardaí to support prosecutions arising from Operation Thor. The reduction in the volume of burglaries as a result of Operation Thor will not of course be indicated in the overall detection rate for burglary. However, I might add that the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act was commenced a year ago and introduced the DNA database, which provides Gardaí with investigative links ('hits') between people and unsolved crimes, including burglaries. It is anticipated that this will assist in improving detection rates for burglary over the coming years.

Underpinning all of these measures is the Government's ongoing commitment to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. The Government plans to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. This year, funding has been provided for the recruitment of 800 Garda recruits and up to 500 civilians to support the wide ranging reform plan which is in train within An Garda Síochána. Approximately 300 appointments will also be made to the Garda Reserve.