Vol. 538 No. 3
287 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of violent assaults which have taken place to date in 2001; the number of murders which have been committed since 1 January 2001; the measures he is taking to reduce these numbers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17880/01]
I am informed by the Garda authorities that 18 murders have been investigated since 1 January 2001, and that 13 of these have been detected. The investigation of all murders is the responsibility of the local divisional and district officers with the assistance of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and specialist technical units. Statistics on violent assaults since 1 January 2001 are not currently available and could not be obtained without a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources.
I am satisfied that the full range of legislative and other measures which I have introduced, including unprecedented increases in Garda resources and personnel, have and are producing results, as evidenced by ongoing decreases in the annual number of indictable offences recorded by the Garda Síochána.
