I am disappointed the Minister is not present to respond to this Adjournment debate. I do not mean any disrespect to the Minister of State when I say that.
Adjournment Debate. - Garda Deployment.
He is out of the country.
The Minister has been hiding from this issue which I have raised on four occasions in the past six months and on none of which has he referred in his response to community gardaí. He waffled on about everything else, but refused to deal with the question of the appointment of community gardaí in south Tipperary. I received a reply from him during the week to a parliamentary question. It also referred to everything except the question I asked, which concerned the need for the appointment of community gardaí in Clonmel, Carrick-on-Suir and Tipperary town. Is there a sanction which can be placed on Ministers who refuse to answer parliamentary questions?
The Minister has also failed to meet members of Clonmel Borough Council who, six months ago, asked him to meet a deputation of members on this issue. In response to my question during the week the Minister said there are 41 gardaí of all ranks in Clonmel, 16 in Carrick-on-Suir and 30 in Tipperary town. The garda complement in Tralee, a town in the Minister's county, is 70, 29 more than that in Clonmel, which is larger than Tralee.
I am disappointed the Minister is not present and that he has failed to respond to this question I have asked for the past six months. Unfortunately, his failure to respond means that it is now the position that one in every four crimes is not reported to the Garda. This damages the reputation of the force and diminishes its status in the community. People do not believe that crimes they report to the Garda will be dealt with effectively. Huge numbers are not being reported. There is a further complication in that, this year, the Minister has refused to publish the preliminary figures for 2001 which would show that crime levels throughout the country have deteriorated.
Our request for community gardaí is simple and necessary and the Minister has accepted it in other areas. Two sergeants and nine gardaí in Waterford city are dedicated to community Garda policing and community efforts. I am aware that local Garda management has requested community gardaí for south Tipperary. It is my understanding, in the case of Clonmel, that a Garda sergeant and four gardaí have been requested by local management for community policing. I visited Waterford with community groups some time ago where community gardaí have made a huge and lasting impression on anti-social behaviour in the city. The same applies in Letterkenny and the same could be the case in the towns in south Tipperary to which I referred.
The sad fact is that there is serious anti-social behaviour in all towns throughout the country, not just in south Tipperary, which has resulted in tenants being forced to move out of local authority houses. Will the Minister examine and approve the application for community gardaí for south Tipperary and give a date to members of Clonmel Borough Council for meeting a deputation from the council, something we requested more than six months ago?
I repeat that as the Minister is out of the country on official business he could not be here tonight.
I note that the Minister recently dealt with a parliamentary question tabled by the Deputy on this matter and I welcome this opportunity, on behalf of the Minister, to go into more detail on the issues raised by him.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the Minister is responsible for the overall provision of resources to the Garda Síochána, while the Garda authorities are responsible for the detailed allocation of personnel and resources to individual areas. With that in mind, I would like to set out for the information of the House the information recently conveyed by the Minister to the Deputy with regard to the manpower strength of the three stations referred to by him. The strength of the three stations, all ranks, is as follows: Clonmel, 41; Carrick-on-Suir, 16 and Tipperary Town, 30. The Minister has been further informed that the strength, all ranks, of Tipperary Division is 316 as of 19 February 2002. This compares with a strength of 293 in February 1997 and, as such, represents an increase of 23, or 7.8%, in the manpower allocated to the division since that date.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda authorities are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources to individual areas and, in this regard, the allocation of gardaí to particular duties within a division, such as community Garda duties, is the responsibility of the divisional officer. The Minister has been assured that the manpower situation will be kept under review and when additional personnel next become available the needs of Clonmel, Carrick-on-Suir and Tipperary Town will be fully considered within the overall context of the needs of Garda districts throughout the country.
I stated earlier that the Minister is responsible for the overall provision of resources to the Garda Síochána and, in this regard, I would like to detail some of the resources he is providing. Last November the Minister announced he had approved the holding of a further Garda recruitment competition early in 2002 to recruit an additional 300 Garda trainees.
On a point of order—
There is no point of order on the Adjournment. Like the Deputy, the Minister of State has five minutes.
The current Garda strength of 11,770 is the highest in the history of the State. The strength of the force was 10,800 when the Minister took up office. Recruitment already under way will bring Garda strength up to an all time record high of 12,000 by the end of 2002.
Will the Minister provide community gardaí?
The recruitment of an additional 300 Garda trainees will ensure Garda strength is maintained at that level.
The Deputy refers to anti-social behaviour. One of the ways we are tackling this problem is by extending the CCTV network. As of now, there are three Garda CCTV systems in operation with a fourth currently being completed. As part of the first tranche of this expansion, CCTV systems are to be installed in ten more areas and it is anticipated that these ten CCTV systems will be installed by the end of 2002. At least a further six areas will commence in 2003. The Minister is also conscious that some applications for CCTV systems that have been received relate to relatively small schemes. He has given careful consideration to how assistance can be provided to these areas. To this end, it is planned to introduce a grant scheme soon to cater for those communi ties who would like to press ahead on their own with a local CCTV system. I am sure this will be of interest to communities in the Deputy's constituency.
I should also add that the Minister sought and received Government approval for the drafting on a priority basis of a new Criminal Justice (Public Order Enforcement) Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to provide the Garda Síochána with additional powers to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Finally, I would like to detail some of the Garda initiatives taken to deal with street crime. The Garda Síochána's national public order initiative, Operation Oíche, has been in operation since October 2000. The Garda authorities consider Operation Oíche to have been highly successful to date. Since its introduction, there has been a more visible Garda presence on the streets, particularly at the closing times of licensed premises and night clubs.
Notwithstanding the considerable successes enjoyed since the inception of Operation Oíche, it was felt that a fresh approach was needed. Therefore, following consultations which the Minister held with the Garda Commissioner, a new public order initiative entitled Operation Encounter came into force on 23 February 2002. This operation concentrates on targeted areas and it also involves closer liaison with the owners of night clubs, pubs and fast food outlets.
The Minister wishes to assure the House that the Government will continue to provide all the resources necessary to effectively tackle the problem of assault and violence on our streets. He is confident that existing measures, together with the enhancements he has announced, will pay dividends in terms of crime prevention and detection.
The Minister of State did not answer my question.
The Dáil adjourned at 10.40 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 28 February 2002.