Statements on Crime
Dáil Éireann 5 May 2016
Minister’s Opening Remarks
At the outset I must say that I very much
welcome the opportunity that this debate provides to discuss the measures we've
taken to tackle crime in all its forms and to look at how to improve our
strategies to protect and support communities throughout the country.
Crime creates victims… and even
if you are not the victim, crime can be disturbing. It can be frightening.
When a house on your road is
burgled;
When a farm down the road is
robbed;
When a gang-related shooting
occurs in your neighbourhood;
It is all frightening.
But it doesn’t mean we have to
accept it.
As Minister for Justice I have
been committed to doing all we can as a state to disrupt and prevent crime… and
to make our streets and our communities safer.
Gang-related crime
The evil and sinister cycle of
gangland violence in our Capital is
shocking and disturbing. The loss of life, including the life of those who
played no part in gang related feuds, is intolerable.
This violent feud is
unprecedented in its audacity. The gangs show no regard for public safety. The
events we have seen are outrageous.
It should be noted that, prior to
the current spate of violence; gang-related murders had fallen from 17 in 2010
to 3 last year. The murder rate overall was down 43% in the same period.
We must not let this record of
improvement nor the safety and good name of our Capital City be dragged down by
the violence and thuggery of these gangs.
Last week, An Taoiseach and I met
with senior officers of An Garda Síochána. We were briefed on the significant
progress being made in investigations into recent gang-related murders in the
Dublin region.
I wish to commend Gardaí on their
current policing operations in Dublin including those involving armed units.
These operations include a range of responses from visible policing, the use of
armed checkpoints and targeted and intelligence based operations; all aimed at
disrupting and preventing incidents, as well as detecting and prosecuting those
involved.
Work is also progressing in the
establishment of an additional, dedicated 55-strong Armed Support unit for
Dublin which I first announced plans for in February. I note that there has
been an overwhelming response from Gardai in terms of applications to the new
unit.
I have assured An Garda Síochána
that they have the full support of the Government in their efforts to disrupt
gang-related crime and they will continue to access all resources necessary,
including extensive overtime, to support them in delivering concentrated
visible policing measures to tackle gang-related crime.
There is absolutely no question
of any reduction in the resources or overtime being made available to Gardaí to
counteract gang-related crime. However long it takes, and whatever resources
are necessary, the State will take all measures open to it to bear down on the
deadly activities of gangs.
Anti-gang laws
I would point out that An Garda
Síochána gain from tough legislation to tackle organised crime enacted in 2006
and 2009. The then Ministers are to be commended for introducing that
legislation.
These acts set out criminal
offences and strong sanctions for ‘directing the activities of a criminal
organisation’ and ‘participating in or contributing to certain activities of a
criminal organisation’.
Since the enactment of the
Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 on the 23rd of July 2009 to the 31st
March 2016 inclusive, 276 arrests have been made under the legislation. To date
eight individuals have been charged, six in relation to ‘participating or
contributing to certain activities’ and two in relation to ‘directing the
activities of a criminal organisation’. There have been two convictions to date
under the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009, both under section 72 of the
act, to participate in or contribute to certain activities.
Special Criminal Court
The Criminal Justice (Amendment)
Act 2009 also brought in provisions to respond to the reality of intimidation
by criminal gangs and were designed to tilt the balance firmly in favour of the
rule of law and justice. I very much regret that some parties in this House
continue to vote annually against the renewal of some these special provisions
and furthermore, persist in calling for the abolition of the Special Criminal
Court.
I recently signed the rules of
court as the final step necessary to establish a second Special Criminal Court,
so that we can start dealing with the current backlog of cases. Given the
existence of violent criminals who will stop at nothing in pursuit of their evil
objectives, including intimidation of jurors and witnesses, it is clear that
the Special Criminal Court must remain as an essential element in our
anti-crime infrastructure.
Criminal Assets Bureau
The CAB is playing its part in
current operation aimed at tackling criminal gangs. The staff of the Bureau show
wonderful commitment to the pursuit and
seizure of the proceeds of crime as illustrated in the 2014 Annual Report I
published in January.
Since its statutory inception in
1996 and up to the end of 2014 CAB:
· Has obtained interim orders (freezing
orders) to the value of over 79 million EURO; over 18 million STERLING and 6.6 million US DOLLARS and Interlocutory
Orders (final restraint orders) to the value of over 50 million EURO, 3 million
STERLING and 6 million US DOLLARS
· Has demanded over €253 million in raxes
and interest, with over € 147 million collected; and
· Made social welfare savings of over
€7.2 million and recoveries of almost €3.3 million.
·
Disrupting the Drugs Trade
Last year saw An Garda Síochána
establish a dedicated new national Drugs &
Organised Crime Bureau. During
2015, this new Bureau arrested 90 people for drug trafficking offences and made
51 significant seizures of controlled drugs with an estimated street value in
excess of €24 million, including cocaine, heroin, herbal cannabis, cannabis
resin and ecstasy. Tactical investigations by the Bureau have resulted in 238
detections and arrests for offences relating to possession with intent to
supply.
Gun Crime
Recent high-profile gang-related
crimes have also, regrettably, manifested themselves as gun crime. I must
however note the substantial progress that has been made over the past 10-years
in tackling gun crime in Ireland. The number of offences relating to the
possession and discharge of a firearm has fallen by 52% from 745 in 2005 to 356
in 2015; while incidents of assault, burglary, robbery and murder involving a
firearm are down 28% from 455 to 329.
This substantial reduction in
gun-related crime is welcome and I commend An Garda Síochána on their work in
reducing gun crime in Ireland. But one crime involving a gun is still one too
many. We will continue to do all we can to support Gardai in tackling
gun-related crime and we will not let the recent upsurge in violence deter us
from this goal.
Broader investment in An Garda
Síochána.
Now is a time for expansion for
An Garda Síochána. The last Government ended the moratorium on Garda
recruitment. We reopened Garda College in Templemore to new recruits.
Since September 2014, we have
provided for the recruitment of 1,150 new Gardai, including 600 this year. As
Minister, I'm have been consistent in my commitment towards ongoing seamless
recruitment and subject to agreement being reached on the formation of a new
Government, my party has agreed to commit to increasing the strength of An
Garda Siochana to 15,000.
Recruitment is just the
beginning. Gardai must be mobile and visible and responsive - in the community
- not stuck behind desks in stations. We need Gardai policing our road network
and tackling mobile criminal gangs. That means investing in vehicles.
The last Government has invested
more than €34 million to purchase over
1,300 new Garda vehicles since
2012. 720 new vehicles are coming on stream since the start of last year. The age profile of the Garda fleet has
improved significantly. The percentage of vehicles under 2 years old has now
increased to over 35% (up from 7%) and will continue to increase. Under the
Capital Plan 2016-2021 we're going to invest at least €46 million in 1,700 more
Garda vehicles.
We have invested in new
night-time surveillance equipment for the Garda Air
Support Unit, to track and
disrupt burglars and criminal gangs from the air. We are investing in new or refurbished Garda
stations in 32 locations nationwide. We
have committed an additional €205 million in new technology and ICT, to equip
An Garda Síochána for the digital era and to cut-down on paperwork so Gardai
can spend more time on the beat, in the community. We are committed to
expanding Garda CCTV and automatic number plate recognition technology to help
identify and respond to the criminal gangs using our roads and motorways.
Operation Thor
In October, An Garda Síochána
launched Operation Thor, a national anti-crime and anti-burglary strategy.
Operation Thor delivers on
increased investment in policing by the outgoing Government to tackle
burglaries and related crime. In addition I
provided €5 million for additional overtime got this operation.
Operation Thor is now providing a
concerted drive against those involved in burglary crime, including the highly
mobile criminal gangs who have targeted communities in many rural areas and
caused so much damage and distress in the process. The concentrated Garda activity
under Operation Thor has included more than 16,000 anti-crime patrols and in
the order of 20,000 targeted checkpoints nationwide. There have also been in
the region of 900 arrests covering a range of offences which, in addition to
burglary have included handling stolen property, possession of firearms and
drugs offences.
Community Partnership
Garda engagement with local
communities is also being strengthened and - for 2016 - I doubled the funding available for crime
prevention measures supported by my Department. These include Crimestoppers and
the very valuable Community Alert programme which has a particular focus on on
Rural Communities and is also a key component in the very successful Garda Text
Alert Scheme. Text Alert is now available in every Garda Division, urban and
rural, with over 700 local groups involving in excess of 130,000 subscribers
Burglary Statistics
CSO figures published last month
show an overall reduction in burglary of 5% for the twelve month period ending
on 31 December 2015. Most significantly there has been a very significant
reduction during the last quarter of the year. In fact, the figures for the
last quarter of 2015 indicate a reduction of 26.2% compared to the same period
in 2014. Furthermore, the CSO figures refer to the period October to December
2015 and Operation Thor commenced on 1 November 2015.
New legislation
The implementation of Operation
Thor has been aided by the enactment of the Criminal Justice (Burglary of a
Dwelling) Act. This legislation means that tougher sentences can be handed-down
to repeat burglars, including consecutive sentences for previous offenders
being prosecuted on multiples counts. In addition, the new Burglary Act made it
easier for Courts to refuse bail for repeat burglars.
Next, we will enact our new Bail
Bill to protect the public against crimes committed by offenders out on bail.
This bill will allow for refusal of bail for repeat serious offenders and will
strengthen Garda powers to deal with breaches of bail. It will also include new
provisions to allow for electronic tagging of those on bail, where requested by
Gardai, to reduce re-offending.
Review of stations and boundaries
I am conscious that many of the
measures I have outlined respond to the deep concerns expressed by people in
Rural Ireland about the impact of crime on their communities. As Minister, I
have met and listened to many people to hear their concerns at first hand, and
I believe that there must be an ongoing dialogue with to ensure that we
continue to strengthen the level of protection and support for rural
communities.
I am firm in my belief that
tackling crime is not just about the bricks-and-mortar of Garda stations. It is
as much, if not more, about having effective, mobile patrols covering rural
areas providing both a regular, visible presence and a rapid response when
required. Central to achieving this is out ongoing investment in people,
vehicles and ICT.
However, as far as stations are
concerned, I accept the very real concerns that exist in rural communities in
relation to the location and geographical distribution of station as well as
concerns relating to potential inefficiencies in Garda district boundaries. Of
course, these can also be issues of concern in growing urban and suburban
areas. My party as therefore agreed, subject to agreement being reached on the
formation of a new Government, to mandate the Policing Authority to review the
boundaries of Garda districts and the dispersement of stations.
Conclusion
I wish to conclude by
acknowledging the dedicated and selfless work all members of An Garda Síochána
who oppose criminals and support and defend local communities. While the
service has not been without its difficulties in recent times I believe it
still has the widespread appreciation and support of the vast majority of our
people.
The Government’s focus over the
past year has been to put in place concrete measures to ensure and enhance
ongoing public confidence in policing in Ireland, while continuing to support
the men and women of An Garda Síochána in their day-to-day work of keeping our
communities and country safe.