I very much welcome the opportunity afforded by this lengthy debate to hear the views of all parties of the House on the subject of tackling crime.

The public understandably has concerns about crime and properly makes those concerns known to us as public representatives.  Deputies in this House are well placed to know what is happening in their communities, what forms of crime are causing problems in their areas and, indeed, the local conditions which can exacerbate, for example, problems of public disorder.

I am glad that this debate is not in the form of ritualised motions and countermotions defending and attacking the Government's record in dealing with crime.  Of course, I would strongly defend the measures which the Government is taking - and it is necessary for me in statements such as this to set some of those out - but I want to make it clear that neither I nor the Government make claim to some monopoly of wisdom in how to tackle the myriad of complex issues which arise in trying to tackle crime.  I am more than prepared to consider any constructive suggestion made by any member of this House.  And I think that it is important that, whatever may divide us, a message goes out from this House today that all sides here are united in our determination that the problems of crime be effectively addressed.

I do not intend today to detain the House with a lengthy analysis of crime statistics.  They are already on the public record.  I realise it is no consolation to someone who has been a victim of crime to point out that the chances of it happening - particularly in this jurisdiction - are low.  But, in an effort to give some perspective to this debate and point to what is being achieved, there are a few figures it might be helpful for me to mention.  The latest figures available from the Central Statistics Office, which now has responsibility for compiling crime statistics, cover the twelve month period ending on 30 June, 2007.  They show a drop in headline crime of just over 1% on the previous twelve months.  

Garda figures show a detection rate of 40% for 2006 which compares favourably with rates internationally and with rates here of 36% in 2003 and 35% in 2004 and 2005.  The crime rates have, of course, to be seen against the background of the rises taking place in population.  The crime rate per 1,000 of population dropped from 26 in 2003 to 24.5 in 2006.  In relation to recent murders, I can tell the House the latest figures are that since 1 August there have been 17 murders and manslaughters.  Persons have been charged in respect of 13, or 76%, of these cases, including one of the two firearms cases.

I am not at all to be taken as suggesting these crime rates are acceptable – far from it.  As I've said before one crime is one crime too many.  But it would be wrong of us not to acknowledge the achievements of the Garda Síochána and other agencies of the criminal justice system.  We tend to forget that week in week out people are brought to justice for their crimes.

Under the Garda Síochána Act it is open to me to set policing priorities for An Garda Síochána.  I am in the course of determining those priorities for 2008 and yesterday I consulted my colleagues in Government about them.  My intention is to prioritise areas such as gun crime, organised crime and drugs, and public order.  Before finalising those priorities I want to listen to what Deputies have to say in the course of the debate here today and take their views into account.

I want, as much as I can as Justice Minister, to foster a spirit of national partnership in tackling crime.  That is why I am giving priority to establishing a Joint Policing Committee in each local authority area.  These committees provide a forum where members of a local authority and the senior Garda officers responsible for policing the area, together with Oireachtas members and community and voluntary interests, can consult, discuss and make recommendations on matters affecting policing of their community.  On the one hand, these committees should make policing more responsive to community needs; on the other they should make the job of the Gardaí in tackling particular problems easier by providing a forum for co-operation with all the interests involved.  Twenty nine Committees are now operating on a pilot basis.  Minister Gormley and I are examining what lessons can be learned from the operation of the pilot and we intend to have committees up and running in all local authority areas as early as possible in 2008.  One of the priorities I intend to establish for An Garda Síochána is full and effective participation in the work of these committees.

My primary responsibility as Justice Minister is for the criminal justice system.  But in any debate about crime, we have to be conscious that there are many matters wider than the operation of the criminal justice system that can have an effect on the crime rate.  For example, in this country many people seek out and use illicit drugs.  These people are the ready market that is the lifeblood of the Irish drugs industry and the deadly violence associated with it.  At the other end of the scale, while the Gardaí have to use the law to deal with incidents of public disorder we have to be conscious too that there is a need for facilities for young people in our communities.  To put it at its most basic, it helps when the Gardaí have to move young people along that there is somewhere for them to go.

That said, there is one fact about crime that is so obvious that at times it can be lost in a welter of analysis: those who are responsible for crime are those who commit crime.  There is a basic duty on all citizens to obey the law and let their fellow citizens enjoy their lives and their property peaceably.  There is a fundamental duty on the Government to vindicate those fundamental human rights.  In this regard I can certainly assure the House of one thing today:  this Government will never be found wanting in taking whatever measures can reasonably be taken to tackle crime.  In doing so I am sure it will have the support of all sides of the House.

I am keenly aware from my own contact with constituents and with public representatives from all sides of the House, of the widespread concern about the problem of public disorder.  Public representatives are better placed than most to know how in some areas anti-social behaviour is making people’s lives a misery.  Strong provisions are already in place to combat anti-social behaviour.  The Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994 modernised the law in this regard.  The Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003 contains provisions to deal with alcohol abuse and its effect on public order.  The Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2003 provides the Gardaí with powers to deal with late night street violence and anti-social conduct attributable to excessive drinking.

In addition to the criminal law, we have a range of initiatives in place to get at the root causes of this type of behaviour.  The Garda Juvenile Diversion Programme has proven to be highly successful in diverting young people away from crime by offering guidance and support to juveniles and their families.  
 
Garda Youth Diversion Projects are community-based, multi-agency crime prevention initiatives which seek to divert young people from becoming involved (or further involved) in anti-social and/or criminal behaviour.  By doing so, the projects also contribute to improving the quality of life within communities and enhancing Garda/community relations.  The Government is committed to doubling the number of Projects to 168.  I recently approved the establishment of an additional 12 Projects, bringing the current total to 93 throughout the country.
       
CCTV schemes are a strong deterrent in fighting crime and anti-social behaviour as well as giving communities greater peace of mind.  

More broadly, a number of reforms have taken place in recent years to bring about a more effective youth justice system and these have been enshrined in legislation in the Children Act 2001, as amended. The Act is based on the principles of diversion from crime and antisocial behaviour, restorative justice, the expanded use of community based sanctions and measures by the courts, and the use of detention only as a last resort.  

Recent measures – in which I was privileged to play a central part - have reformed our entire approach to youth justice.  The Irish Youth Justice Service, an Executive Office of my Department which is co-located in the Office of the Minister for Children, now has responsibility for developing youth justice policy and operating the children detention schools.

This Government is committed to addressing the problem of anti-social behaviour.  Ultimately, offenders have to pay a price for this type of behaviour.  I have therefore asked my Department to look at the question of what the Programme for Government refers to as community payback. This involves those who have transgressed providing real services for the communities they have damaged. It is the case that community service orders already mean that some offenders make reparation to society generally, but we now want to examine the possibility of making a more direct connection between the offence and reparation to the community against whom the offence has been committed.

There is no doubt that developments which have taken place in relation to gun crime are deeply disturbing.  

Members of the gangs involved set no value on human life.  We have had a series of killings relating to feuds within gangs or rows over the drugs trade.  It is small consolation that the problem is not unique to this country.  At a meeting a few weeks ago with the British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, I had the opportunity to discuss the problem of gun crime and the courageous and determined efforts she is making to grapple with the serious problems of gang and gun violence in the United Kingdom.

The reprehensible gun attack on Garda Paul Sherlock last week provided evidence of the depths to which these gangs will stoop.  I know members on all sides of the House have already expressed their revulsion at what happened but let us pledge again our full support for members of An Garda Síochána in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
 
That incident was a stark reminder of the dangers facing members of An Garda Síochána as they go about their daily task of protecting us all.  The House will be aware that the Government recently appointed Deputy Commissioner Fachtna Murphy to replace Commissioner Noel Conroy when he retires next month.  As well as paying tribute to the work of An Garda Síochána generally, I believe all members of the House will join me in acknowledging the lifetime of loyal and effective service which Noel Conroy has given to An Garda Síochána and thereby to the community.  We can also have confidence, on the basis of his most impressive career to date, that Deputy Commissioner Murphy will provide outstanding leadership to the Garda Síochána at a time of great challenge.

I have said before that the fight against the activities of gangs is going to be long and has to be relentless.

The House will be aware that Operation Anvil has been specifically directed against the activities of these gangs, particularly in Dublin.  Figures which I received from the Garda Commissioner recently show that from its beginning in May 2005 to 9 September last, 768 firearms have been recovered, 37,437 searches for drugs have taken place and over 70,000 checkpoints established.  I would suggest to the House that these figures make clear the unrelenting nature of the activity being undertaken by An Garda Síochána to deal with these problems.  Indeed, the find by the Gardaí last night of guns, explosive devices, ammunition and balaclavas is further evidence of their determined approach, and I commend them for it.

This House has enacted a wide range of measures to deal with the activities of gangs.  Many of the measures contained in the recent Criminal Justice Act will inevitably take a while to have full effect and they should be given time to do so.  But I have no doubt that we as legislators must always stand ready to make any further changes to our criminal laws that prove necessary.  In that regard, for example, I will be bringing proposals before this House for the creation of a DNA database.

It is easy to sound tough on crime.  What is needed is to be tough on crime.  And to do that we have to make sure that those agencies charged with tackling crime are provided with the resources they need.  There is no use willing an end unless we provide the means.  Again what the Government has been doing in this regard is a matter of public record.  

The current Programme for Government re-affirms the commitment to a Garda strength of 15,000, with a target date of 2010, and commits us to increasing the strength of the Force further to 16,000 by 2012.  Recruitment to the Garda reserve will also continue as a priority.  The Garda budget now stands at €1.44 billion compared to just over €0.9 billion five years ago.  Garda overtime this year will amount to around €140 million compared to €66 million five years ago.  Since December, 2006 approval has been given for the recruitment of 600 civilian staff and 300 have been assigned already, releasing Gardaí for operational duties.  The Garda fleet is undergoing extensive modernisation.  Last year €24.7 million was used to purchase 1,378 vehicles for the Force.

I am determined that the Gardaí will have access to state of the art technology in carrying out their duties.  In implementing the new National Digital Radio system over the next two years, over 17,000 radios will be provided for members of the Force in Garda cars and other locations.  A major incident computer system will automate many of the functions currently being performed manually when a major incident occurs.  We are proceeding too with an Automated Number Plate Recognition system, an Automated Fingerprint Identifications system and an Automated Ballistic Identification system.  CCTV systems will be put in place in all major county towns.

There have, of course, been major reforms to An Garda Síochána, including the appointment of a Garda Inspectorate, led by former Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O’Toole, as well as the Advisory Group on Garda Management and Leadership Development.  As part of the enhanced programme of civilianisation, a new civilian head of administration at Deputy Commissioner level has just been appointed.  All these changes are designed to support and equip the Gardaí in dealing with the complex challenges they face.

It is important too that other agencies involved in criminal justice are properly resourced.  We have been doing that through supporting a Prison Building Programme to ensure that when people are convicted, they will serve their sentences.  There has also been a substantial investment in the courts infrastructure.

Last year, for the first time my predecessor set priorities for An Garda Síochána under the provisions of the Garda Síochána Act 2005.  As I mentioned earlier, I am at present finalising the priorities I will be providing to the Garda Commissioner for 2008.  In the time remaining I want to mention to the House, in the context of taking into account its views, some of the priorities I have in mind.

Of their nature, these will build on the priorities which are set for this year.

A major priority of An Garda Síochána is tackling gun crime, organised crime and drug trafficking.  They do this through the use of specialist units and targeted operations such as Operation Anvil.  The priorities will emphasise the importance of profiling, intelligence gathering and threat assessments in relation to the individuals and groups, identified as involved in this type of crime.  I intend to include in the priorities a specific reference to enhanced liaison arrangements between Garda Divisions and the Criminal Assets Bureau in the pursuit of those engaged in drug dealing at all levels.  As it is, profilers trained by CAB are now present in every Garda Division.  The message should be clear: drug dealing by anybody on whatever scale is unacceptable and will be pursued.  In addition I propose to set a priority relating to enhanced activities by the Drugs Units and the Force in focusing on places throughout the country where the presence of drug dealing and the consumption of illicit drugs is likely.

Another priority will be in the area of public order, which I have dealt with at some length already.  The Gardaí will be asked to co-operate with other agencies and the community generally, in initiatives to combat the problems of public disorder.  They will be asked to pay particular attention to alcohol related misdemeanours, including under age drinking.  They will do this partly through using the new legal mechanisms being made available including ASBOs and behaviour warnings.  On the subject of ASBOs, I want to respond to some misinformed conclusions which have been drawn from the fact that no ASBOs have yet been applied for by the Gardaí.  In fact the ASBO regime which was introduced in the earlier part of this year involves a series of procedures including behaviour warnings and, in the case of children, good behaviour contracts.  In setting up the regime, the intention was that these warnings or good behaviour contracts would themselves address the problem behaviour.  It is only if they fail that an ASBO will be applied.  In any case, it inevitably takes time to reach the stage where an ASBO itself might be sought.  Some hundreds of warning notices have already been issued.  Where these do not succeed in altering a person's behaviour, they will culminate in ASBOs being sought by the Gardaí from the courts.

The priorities will also seek to increase significantly the proportion of Gardaí on operational duty.  This will be facilitated by increased civilian support.  An increase in the level of high visibility patrols will be specified and this will be linked to the development during 2008 of a Garda Charter which will set out targeted response times and levels of service.

I propose that a number of priorities will be included relating to the expansion of the juvenile liaison scheme and of the number of Garda Youth Diversion Projects; the monitoring of sex offenders; combating homophobic and race crimes; cooperating with the newly established domestic violence Executive Agency COSC in curbing the problem of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence; targeting the use of knives in violent attacks; and taking measures to deal with the evils of human trafficking.  The priority of dealing with terrorism, both domestic and international, will of course remain.

Other priorities will cover areas, such as road traffic law enforcement and immigration controls, which are not directly related to this debate.  I want to make it clear too that the overall priority of the Gardaí in dealing with crime is the enforcement of the criminal law.  No significance should be read into the non-inclusion of particular types of crime in the priorities mentioned by me.  But we have to be conscious that setting too many priorities carries with it the danger in reality of setting none.

In the time available I have only been able to set out some of the issues that arise in relation to crime.  We need to bear in mind too that some of the crimes which receive most public attention because of their seriousness are not the types of crime which impinge most on the daily lives of people.  That is why, day in, day out, resources have to continue to be deployed to deal with crime in all its manifestations. Our criminal justice system exists to serve all the people - to keep them and their property safe from harm.  

I look forward to a constructive debate.  As I have said, I will take the points made by Deputies fully into account in going forward.