Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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260. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which she and her Department are considering measures to address the increasing levels of unprovoked violence leading to attacks on vulnerable persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9006/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My thoughts are with the victims of the recent horrific attacks in their own homes. An Garda Síochána is conducting criminal investigations so the Deputy will appreciate that I cannot comment in detail on the specifics of any individual case.  However I utterly condemn these senseless and cowardly attacks and also belive that the perpetrators must be brought to justice. 

Incidents like these, although rare, are terrifying, not only for the victim themselves but for the entire community.  Home is the one place we should all be able to feel safe, and fear in one’s own home is something that can never be tolerated.

I can assure the Deputy that my Department is committed to ensuring that there is strong, visible community policing right across both rural and urban Ireland.

As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including Garda operations aimed at preventing and detecting crime. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

This year’s winter phase of Operation Thor was launched by Gardaí in October 2021 and is designed to tackle burglaries and associated criminal activities, which often increase in the darker winter months, through targeted enforcement and crime prevention activity and information.

This annual focus from Operation Thor has proved highly successful in tackling property related crime since its inception in November 2015.  In 2015, there were in excess of 18,800 residential burglaries reported. By contrast, to the end of 2021 there were just over 6,000 residential burglaries reported, a reduction of over 66% or approximately 13,000 less residential burglaries.

While the COVID-19 pandemic was clearly a factor in some of this reduction, with people more likely to be present in their homes throughout the day, there has been a marked and consistent downward trend in such offences since the introduction of this Garda focus through Operation Thor.

The budget provided by Government to the Garda Commissioner continues to increase to unprecedented levels, with an allocation in excess of €2 billion for 2022, including funding for the recruitment of up to 800 additional Garda trainees and up to 400 Garda staff. This significant investment demonstrates the Government's commitment to increasing the Garda workforce to enable the organisation to keep our communities safe. To this end, the Deputy will be aware that a new Garda recruitment competition opened last week and I would encourage anyone with an interest in a career in An Garda Síochána to apply.

In addition to new recruits, the rollout of the new Garda Operating Model will support the redeployment of Gardaí from non-core duties to frontline policing across the country. The new model will see larger Divisions with more resources, increased Garda visibility in communities, a wider range of locally delivered policing services, and a strong focus on community policing.

Budget 2022 also allocated €12m for investment in the Garda fleet, which means more high visibility policing in our towns and cities. This continuing investment is intended to ensure that An Garda Síochána has a modern, effective and fit-for-purpose fleet and that Gardaí can be mobile, visible and responsive on the roads and in the community to prevent and tackle crime.  

My Department has for many years provided funding for the employment and associated costs of the national Community Alert Programme, including the employment of regional Development Officers. In 2021, my Department committed in the region of €150,000 to local communities who wish to apply for a rebate towards the costs associated with running their local Text Alert Scheme, which is administered by Muintir na Tíre. This is a continuation of the annual funding made available by the Department for the Text Alert Rebate scheme each year since 2016.  

As the Deputy is aware, while community policing is a central feature of An Garda Síochána and that is reinforced in the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, that report also highlighted that policing and crime prevention are not the responsibility of An Garda Síochána and my Department alone.

To achieve better outcomes, supported by a strong inter-agency collaboration and community engagement, three pilot Local Community Safety Partnerships have been established. These Partnerships will provide a dedicated communication channel for input and the development of Local Community Safety Plans to reflect and respond to the self-identified needs of that community.

In addition, I will launch the Community Safety Innovation Fund in the coming weeks, which will enable local communities to seek funding for innovative projects which will improve community safety in their areas.

Finally, the Deputy may also be aware that the Department of Rural and Community Development funds the Senior Alert Scheme, which provides grant assistance towards the purchase and installation of personal monitored alarms for persons aged 65 or older and of limited means. The objective of the Seniors Alert Scheme is to encourage community support for vulnerable older people in our communities through the provision of personal monitored alarms to enable them to continue to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind. I am advised that the grant assistance is made available through community, voluntary and not-for-profit organisations that are registered with Pobal.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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261. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps she can still take to further tighten the bail laws to ensure that no person on bail can commit another offence while on bail; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9007/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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262. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps she plans to take to tighten the bail laws and to address recidivism; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9008/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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263. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which repeat offenders have been involved in further crime including violent crime in the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9009/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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264. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps being taken to prevent the committal of further crime by persons while on bail; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9010/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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265. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which further crime has been committed by persons while on bail in the course of the past five years to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9011/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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271. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of members of organised criminal and drug gangs currently on bail; the length of time they have been on bail; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9019/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 261 to 265, inclusive, and 271 together.

The Deputy will be aware that the decision to grant bail in a particular case is a matter for the presiding Judge, who is independent in the exercise of his or her judicial functions. There is also a constitutional presumption in favour of the grant of bail as, under Irish Law, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

As the Deputy knows, a referendum took place in 1996 on a proposed amendment to the Constitution to allow the courts to refuse bail where there are grounds for believing that the accused will commit serious offences while on bail. The referendum was passed by the People and section 2 of the Bail Act 1997 permits the courts to refuse bail to a person charged with a serious offence where refusal of bail is considered by the Court necessary to prevent the commission of a serious offence by that person. Subsequent to this, the law on bail has been further strengthened on three occasions, specifically in the Criminal Justice Act 2007, the Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the Criminal Justice Act 2017.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that the amended bail laws have proven to be effective and I can inform the Deputy there are no immediate plans to introduce further bail legislation.

An Garda Síochána has made important progress in suppressing the threat of serious and organised crime and there has been significant successes achieved in this area through intelligence-led operations. I can assure the Deputy that there will be no let-up in the pressure being brought to bear on those involved in organised crime.

The Government has supported An Garda Síochána in addressing the threat from organised crime gangs through the introduction of legislative measures such as:

- The Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016 which provides additional Garda powers for the immediate seizure of assets suspected of being the proceeds of crime to prevent them being disposed of.

- The Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014 providing for the establishment and operation of the DNA database providing Gardaí with links between people and unsolved crimes.

- The Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009, introduced to protect the justice system from being subverted by criminal groups, including potential intimidation of juries.

- By continuing to grow the strength of the Garda organisation, with a budget of over €2 billion in 2022, providing for the recruitment of up to 800 Gardaí and 400 Garda staff this year.

While it is not possible to provide the statistics sought by the Deputy in respect of the granting of bail to members of organised crime gangs (as this information is not available to the Courts Service) the Deputy may be aware, that the Central Statistics Office regularly publishes both prison and probation re-offending statistics on their website www.cso.ie .

According to the latest release of the Prison Re-offending Statistics 2011 – 2018, published in June 2021, out of the 1,323 persons who re-offended within a year of release in 2018, over a half (50.6%) re-offended in just two offence groups - theft (331) or public order related offences (339).

The latest Probation Re-offending Statistics 2017, published on 19 November 2021, indicate that of the 1,368 individuals that re-offended within a year of receiving their probation orders in 2017, individuals were most likely to re-offend with an offence linked to Road and Traffic offences (23%), public order and other social code offences (22%), theft and related offences (17%), controlled drug offences (13%) and Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation of crime (9%).

Further detailed statistical information can found at the CSO website statistics section at People and Society - Crime and Justice.

Non-custodial penalties, particularly supervised community sanctions, play a significant and important role in addressing criminality, reducing reoffending and providing a degree of protection to the public and this is supported by CSO figures on recidivism.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government 2020 contains a broad range of policies and proposals that represent a coherent approach to enhancing and sustaining a more just and safe society with a specific commitment to review policy options for prison and penal reform.

A High Level Working Group is taking forward the Government’s commitment to review policy options for prison and penal reform and I expect to publish the report from the group shortly.

This work will build on a number of initiatives that have been introduced over the past decade to reduce reoffending, including Community Return and Community Support Schemes and the Joint Agency Response to Crime (JARC).

In terms of future legislation, the Deputy may wish to note that it is my intention in the forthcoming Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to raise the maximum penalty for the offence of ‘conspiracy to murder’ from a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment to potential life imprisonment. This Bill is currently with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for drafting and I hope to be in a position to publish it in quarter 2 of this year.