Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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557. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the actions being taken to tackle rural crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55273/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I want to assure the Deputy that I am very much aware of the impact of crime on rural communities, including the serious damage done by organised gangs who target rural areas to engage in burglary and other property-related crime. Such incidents cannot be tolerated in our society and this Government will continue to dedicate very significant resources to support An Garda Síochána in tackling the gangs, including mobile criminal gangs, who target rural areas.

The Deputy will appreciate it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for the distribution of resources, including personnel, among the various Garda Divisions and Districts and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter.  However, I can assure the Deputy that Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that optimum use is made of these resources.  

The scale of Garda activity against burglary and property-related crime – under Operation Thor - has led to concentrated Garda activity resulting to date in over 100,000 targeted checkpoints and 85,000 crime prevention patrols nationwide. To give you an idea of the impact of the Operation, I can inform you that this concentrated policing activity has produced in the region of 6,375 arrests and 7,134 charges covering a range of offences which, in addition to burglary, include handling stolen property, possession of firearms and drugs offences.

Very significant resources have been provided to An Garda Síochána, including an overtime allocation of almost €100 million announced in Budget 2018, to support large-scale policing operations including Operation Thor. It is also worth noting that Operation Thor has now entered its ‘Winter Phase’ which will run from 29 October 2017 – 1 April 2018.

Operation Thor has targeted mobile criminal 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. The CSO official recorded crime statistics for 2016 show a decrease in burglary offences of 30% when compared to the previous twelve-month period in 2015.  This reflects the success of the concerted Garda drive against crime being implemented under Operation Thor.

I understand that work is ongoing to ensure that the publication of the official CSO crime statistics can recommence in earnest. Recent operational figures would appear to indicate that certain crime categories are on the rise, but until such time as the CSO can resume its publication of the crime statistics it would be unwise to draw any firm conclusions from them at this point.However, I was pleased to note a Garda press release earlier this week which stated that, according to provisional figures, burglaries nationally fell by 23% during November and December under the Winter Phase of Operation Thor. Needless to say, An Garda Síochána will continue to monitor all new and emerging crime trends and deploy their resources accordingly.

This Government has also made it a particular priority to strengthen our legislative provisions through the enactment of the Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Act2015 which is targeted at repeat burglars who have previous convictions and who are charged with multiple offences of residential burglary. This new legislation is now available to support the work which is being carried out by An Garda Síochána under Operation Thor.

The Programme for Government underlines the need for close engagement between An Garda Síochána and local communities. This is an essential feature of the strong community policing ethos which has long been central to policing in this jurisdiction.  The Deputy will be aware that, as part of the overall strategy to oppose criminality, the Garda authorities pursue a range of partnerships with community stakeholders, including the farming organisations. These include the well established Community Alert Programme, which receives annual funding from my Department, as well as the work of the Metal Theft Forum, the Crimestoppers campaign highlighting the Theft of Livestock, the Theftstop initiative in relation to farm equipment, and the highly successful Garda Text Alert Scheme. 

On 02 January 2018 I was pleased to announce that my Department will be providing an additional €50,000 in financial support to Community Text Alert Groups as a further measure in this Government's support to crime prevention.  This is in addition to the €100,000 which I announced at the National Ploughing Championships in September 2017. The Rebate Scheme, which also ran in 2016, will allow Text Alert Groups registered with An Garda Síochána to apply for funding to contribute towards their yearly running costs.  The new funding has been allocated to the 2017 scheme and the deadline has been extended to 31 January 2018.  The Text Alert Rebate Scheme will be administered by Muintir na Tíre and I would like to urge groups wishing to participate in the Scheme to contact Muintir na Tíre for more information.  The website is www.muintir.ie.

Other policing initiatives include Theft Stop which was launched by the Gardaí and the Irish Farmers Association.  Theft Stop is designed to deter criminals from taking and selling farm equipment by ensuring it is clearly marked with a unique ID (such as an EirCode) and then registered on a nationwide database.

The Deputy will be aware that An Garda Síochána's Modernisation and Renewal Programme 2016-2021 places a strong emphasis on developing and supporting the community policing ethos of the organisation and enhancing the current delivery model so that Gardaí spend more time in the community, gaining public confidence and trust and providing a greater sense of security.  It will result in the introduction of multi-skilled Community Policing Teams in every District. Community Policing Teams will be made-up of Gardaí from a number of different units who will work with the local community to prevent and detect crime.  Undoubtedly, the ongoing recruitment process will support all Garda activities and will enhance the provision of effective Community Policing throughout the country.

The Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and to deter crime.  Budget 2018 will support the continuation of this high level of investment in the Garda workforce and ensure that the vision of an overall workforce of 21,000 by 2021 remains on track. A further 800 new Garda Recruits will enter the Garda College, an additional 500 civilians will also be recruited to fill critical skills gaps across the organisation and to facilitate the redeployment of Gardaí from administrative and technical duties to front-line operational duties. There are plans to strengthen the Garda Reserve with new Reserves expected to commence training early in 2018.