Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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556. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of pedal cycle bikes reported stolen to gardaí within the Kildare division in the years 2021, 2022, and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [4205/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, theft is an offence under section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001. Anyone convicted of a theft offence is liable to a penalty of a fine or up to 10 years imprisonment. Under section 14 of the Act, a person found guilty of robbery (theft using coercion or force) is potentially liable on conviction on indictment to life imprisonment. As the Deputy will appreciate, the sentence in any individual case is a matter for the presiding Judge.

The table below, provided to me by the Garda authorities, shows the number of bicycles reported stolen within the Kildare Division in 2021 and 2022.  As the figure for the number of bicycles reported stolen for 2023 is less than ten, this data cannot be provided due to data protection concerns.

The Deputy may be aware that there are a number of initiatives being taken by An Garda Síochána to tackle bike theft, including the ‘Lock it or Lose it’ initiative, which focuses on reminding the public to take extra precautions to keep their bikes safe by locking them in the most secure way possible.

The Blue Bike scheme has also been designed to highlight bike theft hotspots by placing an end of life bike, painted blue, in such areas with a large sign warning members of the public to lock their bikes and be aware of bike theft. This scheme has three goals:

- To warn the public that bike thieves are operating in the area;

- To deter crime by informing offenders that An Garda Síochána are monitoring the area; and

- To thereby create a safer place for members of the public to lock and secure their bikes.

I am informed that, in addition to the ‘Lock it or Lose it’ and Blue Bike initiatives, Gardaí will be resuming property marking schemes and the use of so-called ‘bait bicycles’ in areas which have been identified as bike theft hotspots. Other responses that will be pursued by Gardaí include surveillance of known offenders, the monitoring of any offenders’ current bail conditions and where necessary the appropriate action of any breach of their bail with the relevant courts, and proactive policing, both overt and covert, of hotspot areas.