Vol. 473 No. 6
27 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Justice if she has satisfied herself that the measures she is taking to ensure the safety of older people from assault and robbery are adequate to ensure the safety of vulnerable or incapacitated people during the coming winter. [22281/96]
63 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Justice if she is satisfied that the measures she is taking to ensure the safety of older people from assault and robbery are adequate to ensure the safety of vulnerable or incapacitated people during the coming winter. [22382/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 63 together.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that each regional assistant commissioner and divisional officer has strategies in place to combat attacks on the elderly. These take the form of special regional, divisional and district operations, utilisation of the community alert schemes, liaison with local community groups and crime prevention advice from local crime prevention officers. Among the measures being taken by the Garda Síochána are operations which involve backup from the Air Corps and the placing of mobile checkpoints at strategic locations throughout the State; extra patrols in areas at special risk; increased Garda visits to the elderly to advise them on measures to improve their personal safety; increased visits to neighbours and relations to enlist their assistance in the protection of the elderly; increased contacts with voluntary agencies working with the elderly; special requests to voluntary agencies and the public to report matters out of the ordinary to the gardaí without delay; increased activity by crime prevention officers in areas affected and encouragement for the development of neigbourhood watch and community alert schemes in areas not already covered by them. The full co-operation of the community and voluntary agencies working with the elderly is, of course, critical to the success of these measures.
It will be of interest to Members to hear that the gardaí evaluated the operation of the community alert scheme in 15 selected areas. Based on research carried out on the crime levels for the three year periods before and after the community alert scheme was established, a 17 per cent decrease in attacks on the elderly, a 25 per cent decrease in burglaries and a 21 per cent decrease in other crimes were recorded.
There are approximately 800 community alert schemes in operation involving more than 150,000 households. As a practical demonstration of her support for the expansion of this valuable scheme, the Minister provided £50,000 to Muintir na Tíre to assist it in expanding the scheme.
The Deputy will be aware that the Minister for Social Welfare established a Task Force on Security for the Elderly last year. The Department of Justice and the Garda Síochána were represented on the task force by senior officers. It made a series of recommendations on the security of pensioners and my Department is implementing those for which it has responsibility. The Deputy will be aware that before Christmas the Ministers for Justice and Social Welfare jointly launched an information pack containing Garda crime prevention leaflets, relevant to the security needs of the elderly, and Department of Social Welfare leaflets.
Will the Minister of State agree that some of the most recent horrendous and vicious attacks involved the elderly? Despite the good work of the community alert scheme and voluntary organisations, elderly people live in fear. The mobility of the Garda force, particularly in rural areas, is a matter of concern. Has the Garda received additional resources for transport and mobile telephones to enable it deal with this problem?
There is no problem providing additional resources in this area. In addition to what I stated in my reply, I will outline other examples of the anti-crime strategies being implemented. Operations Meabh/Retrieval have been in place for some time and are co-ordinated by assistant commissioners in western and eastern regions. They have successfully controlled the activities of travelling criminals in the midlands, mid-west and western areas. They are designed to dovetail Garda strategy on both sides of the River Shannon by means of checkpoints and intensive mobile patrolling, backed up by the Air Corps helicopter.
A number of anti-crime operations are in place in the southern region, about which I assume the Deputy has a particular interest. They include Operation South-West which was introduced in the run up to Christmas. It was designed to curb the activities of known criminal gangs and involves designated sector patrolling and checkpoints. Operation ATC was put in place in April 1996 and continues to operate in the 22 districts in the southern region. It combines up to date intelligence with dedicated strategic checkpoints which are decided on available intelligence or in addition to other routine patrolling and checkpoints. A special operation was introduced in the Cork city area to counter a series of crimes against the elderly in large urban centres. A special unit successfully targeted specific gangs and resulted in a number of prosecutions.
Operation Mount Leinster was introduced in the autumn of 1996 with the objective of targeting the activities of travelling criminals and criminal gangs from the greater Dublin region. It continues to operate and involves a series of strategic checkpoints designed to be flexible and intelligence based.
The Government is committed to preventing these abominable attacks on old people and we will use whatever resources and imagination are required to stop them.
I was pleased to hear the Minister state there is no problem in providing additional resources to address this problem. I recently attended a community alert meeting at which it was obvious gardaí operate over and above the call of duty in this regard, but they claimed there is a shortage of resources to purchase telephone aids. The additional £2 million provided in the budget will not be adequate to address this problem. The Minister stated on two occasions that the Air Corps gave helicopter support in the fight against this type of crime. How many helicopters have night flying facilities?
That is an extension of the question.
It certainly is.
In other words, the Minister of State does not know the answer.
I do not pretend to know everything. Unlike some Members who think, and others who pretend, they know everything, I have never tried to put that mantle around myself. I am a humble man. I will not attempt to answer questions to which I do not know the answer. The Government and the Minister are deeply committed to bringing an end to attacks on the old and most vulnerable people in society. I have already indicated the amount of resources the Government has made available and what the Government has been prepared to do to stop these dastardly attacks.
I was interested in the Minister of State's rhetoric and to learn that there is no difficulty with resources. Would that that were the case and that the Minister for Justice would react with the same optimistic abandon as the Minister of State. The Government, which is supposed to be committed to providing whatever resources are necessary, has failed to provide a humble Garda car to many Garda stations, let alone a helicopter with night sights. In this era of high technology mobile telephones the members of the security forces are denied the use of them. How can the Minister of State inform the House, tongue in cheek, that sufficient resources are available and that the Garda will have whatever is required to fight these vile attacks on the elderly?
I refer the Deputy to the subject matter of the question asked by Deputy Joe Walsh. I have given an answer to the question asked, that is, the measures taken and being taken to combat attacks on elderly people so that they may live in the safety to which they are entitled. My answer referred specifically to that question. I will not widen the issue.
There are two questions being answered on this matter, not one. How can the Minister of State say that sufficient resources are being committed to the fight against attacks on the elderly when gardaí in certain areas do not have a patrol car?
