asked the Minister for Justice, in view of the alarming decrease in Garda numbers, the proposls, if any, he has to increase resources available to community groups for example neighbourhood watch, community alert and also to schemes such as the juvenile liaison officer scheme, involved in crime prevention; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Crime Prevention.
5.
I do not accept the suggestion in the question that there has been an alarming decrease in Garda numbers. The reduction in the overall numbers in the force over the past few years has been of the order of 5 per cent, which has brought Garda strength back to the level that applied six or seven years ago. A reduction of this order cannot, I consider, be regarded as unreasonable, taking into account the major improvements that have been introduced in the areas of Garda communications and computerisation in recent years. The reduction that has taken place was, of course, necessary in the overriding interests of getting the finances of the country back on a sound footing. As the Deputy is no doubt aware, 1,000 new Garda trainees are being recruited under the current competition and the first group of selected candidates will commence training in April next.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that the neighbourhood watch and community alert schemes do not require an increase in resources to ensure their continued promotion and development. The most important element in the success of these schemes is the willingness of local communities to play their part, in association with the Garda Síochána, in preventing crime and building better and more secure communities in which to live. During 1987 a total of about 205 new schemes involving some 43,000 households came into operation, while in 1988 there were about 175 new schemes involving some 25,000 households. There are at present about 730 schemes in operation throughout the State, involving over 165,000 households, and a further 20 schemes are currently being organised. I am confident that the success of these schemes will encourage more and more local communities to become involved.
The juvenile liaison officer scheme is essentially a scheme to supervise young people with the intention of weaning them away from involvement in crime. The Garda authorities inform me that existing manpower resources available to the scheme are adequate to meet the current level of referrals of young people and that an increase in the present number of juvenile liaison officers is not a priority.
I thank the Minister for his reply, a reply I expected given he was defending his corner. Would he not agree that the number of members of the Garda Síochána has been reduced by in the region of 800 in the last few years? Will he further agree that the 1,000 recruits he speaks about will be taken on over a three year period and will be barely enough to replace the natural wastage that will take place over that period? Would he not further agree that the juvenile liaison officer scheme has been affected seriously as a result of the cuts in resources available to these officers to enable them to work at weekends, the very time they can make contact with young people and with their families? Would he not further agree that he is living in a different world from most of us? Any magazines or papers we read quoting Garda representative authorities say they do not have the resources to deal with the growth in the neighbourhood watch schemes organised by the community and to service those schemes which is vitally important for their success. Finally, would the Minister not agree that, having recognised there is a limited cake to go round, which we have accepted, how you divide that cake in the Department of Justice is the question at issue? Will he not agree it is better to put more resources into crime prevention than into dealing with the problem after it has occurred?
I thank the Deputy for his generous welcome to the very comprehensive reply I have given and I am sure he shares my pleasure at the success of the Garda Síochána in recent years in the number of areas I have listed, in particular with regard to the success of the neighbourhood watch and community alert schemes. The Garda have established in all nearly 400 new schemes in the last two years and these are extremely successful. That is to their credit.
Deputy Barrett is correct in saying there is and has been a reduction in Garda numbers. That reduction is there; it is a fact. There has been a decrease of about 5 per cent in the overall strength of the force over the last couple of years. We are back to the levels of about six years ago. In an effort to improve the situation for the Garda, the Deputy acknowledges, there is a recruitment campaign at present under way for an additional 1,000 new recruits. Of course, he is correct in saying that is over a period of time, but he is not correct in saying that will barely stop wastage. Even for this year alone the intake of new recruits into the force will more than make up for natural wastage. I am open to correction on this but I think the wastage figures are in the region of 560 or 570. There is a genuine difficulty being experienced here and I am not saying this for the first time. At long last we are doing something worthwhile about the training of Garda recruits. As it was the previous Government who established the Dr. Tom Walsh Committee on Garda training the Deputy knows well that, when they made recommendations for an improved training course for Garda recruits, I readily accepted all of those long overdue recommendations on their merits. The difficulty in accepting the recommendations of that committee is that we do not now have Garda recruits trained within the normal 22 week period as obtained before; it will now take much longer. The Deputy has a point in that respect. However, I was faced with the dilemma: in the short-term interests should I put aside the recommendations of the Walsh Committee and adhere to a 22-week Garda trainee course or should I, in the long-term interests of the force, have all of the recommendations of that committee — with which this House fully agreed — implemented. I had to take into account, when taking that decision that because of recent reorganisational efforts within the force, computerisation and new technology which was introduced at great cost, it would lead to greater efficiency, and there is evidence that that has been the case. I have illustrated that in regard to the number of neighbourhood watch and community alert schemes which are in being at present. There was an almost 60 per cent increase: I gave the figures a few moments ago — 205 in one year and 175 in another; in other words, a total of almost 400 schemes established within two years. That is positive proof that the Garda are doing the job that has to be done.
I have noted fully what the Deputy said with regard to the juvenile liaison scheme. The purpose of this scheme is essentially to supervise young people with the intention of taking them away from a crime-ridden atmosphere.
The Garda Commissioner advises me that the deployment of manpower for that purpose is adequate to meet present demands. I think that covers all of the points the Deputy raised.
This priority question has taken an inordinate amount of time, clearly to the disadvantage of the remaining priority questions. We pass on now to question No. 6.