I welcome this opportunity to address the House on the issue of crime. It is a broadranging issue and obviously, from what has transpired just before my arrival, many Senators have a great deal to say on different aspects of today's debate. I will watch my back on the monitors but I think I am all right.
It would be somewhat artificial in current circumstances not to say that crime, as a concept, is an issue of huge latitude, but sexual abuse of young people is a very serious crime and must be treated as such. The Government is considering carefully what steps it proposes to take to address the issues that have been brought to public attention in recent days by the "Prime Time" programme and by other media programmes and publications.
This is of such importance that it is equally important to avoid knee-jerk reactions. It is important to make sure that everything we do is measured and effective. Without rehearsing matters which have been dealt with elsewhere, and doubtless will be dealt with in this House on another occasion, I state clearly that, as far as our system of law is concerned, no one is beneath its protection and no one is above its reach. It applies across the board and to everyone. As we are citizens of a Republic, the law is the law of the Republic and is not inferior to, or even on a co-equal status with, any private law.
Having made those points, it is important to emphasise to the House that the Garda Síochána is taking steps to strengthen and sharpen its capacity to deal with crimes of sexual abuse against children. The criminal law, such as it is, is a matter, not for direction by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform as to how individual investigations should be carried out, but for enforcement by the Garda Síochána in partnership with the Director of Public Prosecutions. Any resources needed to counter and detect cases of child abuse will be made available by my Department to the Garda Síochána.
Senators will be aware that the statistics furnished by the Garda Commissioner in relation to headline or serious offences for 2001 are disappointing and very worrying. Although in the period 1996 to 2000 the figures for recorded indictable crime showed a decrease of approximately 27%, the trend, regrettably, altered in 2001 when Garda statistics indicated an overall increase of 18% over the previous year. Although these figures are obviously a cause for major concern, they also reflect the targeting of resources and the resultant increased activity on the part of the Garda Síochána in addressing this problem. This is confirmed by the detection rate of 75% in the assault category and 87% in the homicide category.
The increase in the number of public order incidents has led to serious and, in some cases, fatal injuries. This is a major cause of concern to the Government. I know that all Senators will share my concern at the death of a young man who so tragically lost his life in Dublin last week and that they join me in extending sympathy to his family and the families of other recent victims of similar heinous crimes. I am convinced that the serious nature of these crimes underlines the continued need for robust responses to offending behaviour and the need to be able to respond quickly and effectively to changing levels and patterns of crime.
In order to address the problems associated with public order, I have reintroduced the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Bill, 2002, which, when enacted, will give the Garda Síochána significant additional powers to assist it in dealing with drunkenness and disorderly conduct. The purpose of the Bill is to augment the law so as to tackle the problem of drink-related late night disturbances and the growing problem of late night street violence, which have their origins in or outside licensed premises, fast food outlets, night clubs and the like in urban areas. It applies to pubs, off-licences, discos, night clubs, dance venues of all types, amusement arcades, chip shops, take-aways and mobile food vehicles. Existing Garda powers in this area will be strengthened. The Bill will extend the sanctions that may be imposed on offenders under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994.
Many, including several Members of this House, have expressed concern about the contribution of under age drinking to the problem of public disorder. Establishing the incidence of under age drinking and associated public disorder in an empirically sound fashion is a very difficult task as statistics in relation to non-headline crime are not usually disaggregated according to the age of the offender. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that under age drinking undoubtedly contributes to the problem, although I do not wish to overstate this contribution in the context of the behaviour of young adults.
The Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1988 was designed to make it as difficult as possible for persons under the age of 18 years to be sold alcohol, to be in possession of it or consume it other than in a private residence. The Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2000 strengthened the law in this regard by providing for the removal of the reasonable belief defence of licence holders in selling alcohol to under age persons and by providing that where a conviction for the sale of alcohol to an under age person is upheld, the licensed premises may be closed for a specified period. From the date of commencement of the Act in the year 2000 to 23 September 2002, some 118 closure orders were made by the courts.
Moreover, statutory regulations have been introduced providing for the issuance of age cards to persons of or over 18 years of age, certifying that they have attained the legal age for the purchase of intoxicating liquor. This so-called national age card scheme has proven to be considerably successful in making it that bit more difficult for under age persons to purchase alcohol, with approximately 70,000 cards having now been issued. To further promote the scheme, I also plan to initiate a €150,000 awareness campaign to highlight the desirability of the use of these age cards among both young adults and on and off-licensees.
Senators will be aware of the Garda operation named Operation Encounter, which was introduced in February this year and continues to focus on all issues of public order in the community. Particular attention is paid to night clubs, fast food outlets and other venues at which large numbers congregate and where there is potential for disorder. The target hours of the operation are determined locally, based on the specific circumstances prevailing at each location. The Garda strives to ensure the owners and managers of such premises are fully aware of their responsibilities and the duty of care they owe to their patrons and other members of the public. This will be given statutory force when the latest public order Bill becomes law. The operation has also increased the number of gardaí available to target locations where public order and assault offences are likely to be committed
The Government regards the situation as one which requires in-depth analysis of the underlying causes of crime as well as priority action to deal with particular issues. Our response is multifaceted. The programme for Government includes proposals in relation to many of the issues I have already touched upon, such as innovative public order legislation, targeted Garda operations, a strict enforcement of the liquor licensing laws and an extension in the use of closed-circuit television systems. Of particular note in this list is the major expansion of Garda CCTV systems currently under way. Systems are due to be installed in the following 17 areas: Athlone, Ballyfermot, Bray, Carlow, Castlebar, Clondalkin, Clonmel, Dundalk, Dún Laoghaire, Ennis, Finglas, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Waterford, Sligo and Tallaght.
Of particular relevance to the issue of crime are the provisions of the Children Act, 2001, which is acknowledged as one of the most comprehensive youth justice statutes for generations. The Act sets out the manner in which Ireland will be dealing with offenders under the age of 18 years for the foreseeable future. For the benefit of new Members of the House, I will outline some of the provisions.
The Act provides that for children at risk of becoming involved in offending or out-of-control non-offending children, family welfare conferences may be convened. This entirely preventative, inter-agency mechanism brings together the key participants, including the child and parents, to determine whether special care or protection is required or warranted. In addition, the existing Garda juvenile diversion programme will be established on a statutory basis as a means of dealing with the offending child who accepts responsibility for his or her behaviour.
In cases where Garda discretion in the use of cautioning is inappropriate or has failed and the matter proceeds to the Children Court, provision is made for an adjournment of proceedings and the convening of a family conference in cases where the child accepts responsibility for his or her criminal behaviour. The family conference, organised by the probation and welfare service, aims to formulate an action plan for the child, which may include an apology or reparation to the victim, participation by the child in appropriate sports or recreational activities, attendance at school or work, or participation in other recreational, training or educational courses that would not interfere with school or work. The court remains in ultimate control of this process, and if the terms of the action plan are not adhered to, charges against the child may be reinstated.
In those cases where prosecution and conviction become unavoidable, in keeping with best international practice, the guiding principle is that detention should be an option of last resort. To effect this, provision is made for a number of forms of community sanction, many of which are entirely new within Irish law. Although imprisonment will not be an option for persons under the age of 18 years, it is recognised, nevertheless, that detention will always be required for a small number of young offenders for whom nothing else will work. Children of 12 years of age up to 16 years of age will be detained in child detention schools, which will have an educational rather than punitive ethos. Children of 16 and 17 years of age will be detained in dedicated, sex-segregated secure detention centres provided within our justice system.
I also wish to mention the National Crime Council, which was established to facilitate broadly based and well informed discussion on crime on an ongoing basis and to serve as an important aid to policy formulation. I recently had the honour of attending briefly at a meeting of the council and one of the Members of this House is closely related to its chair. It was a pleasure to see an independent group of people setting about feeding well researched, objective and valuable information into our democratic debate.
In November 2001, the council launched its first report, entitled Crime in Ireland, which provides an analysis of the official crime statistics from 1950 to 1998. This study was carried out by the Institute of Criminology in the Faculty of Law at University College Dublin and contains a set of recommendations from the council. On 26 July 2002, I obtained Government approval to implement two of the key recommendations, namely, the establishment of an expert group to review the collation and presentation of information relating to crime and the development of a biennial national crime victimisation survey. I understand that, later today, the National Crime Council will be launching a consultation document dealing with crime prevention partnerships, entitled Tackling the Underlying Causes of Crime – A Partnership Approach. I understand that the council will be making definitive recommendations to me on this matter in spring 2003.
The council has also commissioned a research report to establish the levels of public order offences in Ireland, the likely contributory factors, including but not exclusively alcohol consumption, and a comparative analysis of the problem with countries of similar size to Ireland. The research is being undertaken by the Institute of Criminology and the results are due later this year, together with recommendations from the council. An advisory group has been appointed by the council to oversee the development of a national study of domestic violence. This study will be non-gender specific and will aim to provide a more accurate picture of the prevalence and nature of domestic violence in Ireland than is possible from official crime statistics.
I pay tribute to the loyalty and service which the Garda Síochána has given and continues to give this State and its people. I was gratified by the findings of the recent public attitude survey commissioned by the Garda research unit which showed an 87% general public satisfaction rating with how the community is policed. However, we live in a world of change and the Garda Síochána must change along with the society it serves. I regard it as one of the highest priorities of my period in office to foster and support that trust between the Garda Síochána and the community and to do all I can to ensure that the values of the service endure in a modern setting. We all want a situation to prevail where police action is characterised by the highest standards of professionalism, probity and respect for the law and the Constitution. The maintenance of these standards in an era of change will require new structures and procedures to be put in place and principal among these is the proposed Garda inspectorate which the Government has committed itself to introduce.
The current Government programme lays down a firm commitment to deliver on this new inspectorate, which can independently instigate complaints or investigations against members of the service and which will, in that regard, have the powers of an ombudsman. The inspectorate will also exercise an independent day-to-day oversight of police operating standards. In addition to the proposed Garda inspectorate, there is already under way a substantial programme of change and reform within the Garda Síochána under the Strategic Management Initiative. I have already announced measures to provide for a new performance and accountability framework for the Garda Síochána to enable the service to meet the challenges ahead. The legislation to provide for all these measures is well advanced within my Department and I hope to publish it next year.
Senators will appreciate that it was only possible in this contribution to touch on some aspects of crime, criminology and the State's response to crime and policing. We face many other challenges, not least the issues of terrorism and organised crime. I hope that the Members of this House will not consider that, in visiting just a few flowers on the plant of the crime issue, I am in any way dismissive of the others. I assume that Members will not consider themselves confined in this series of statements to dealing with the issues I have raised, but will range far, wide and constructively on all issues in this category. I thank the Cathaoirleach and Members for their attention and assure them that I will listen attentively to any and all suggestions they may wish to make.