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Crime Prevention

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 February 2014

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Questions (517, 519, 531)

Pádraig MacLochlainn

Question:

517. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to detail the action he is taking to tackle crime in rural communities. [9236/14]

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Pádraig MacLochlainn

Question:

519. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to detail the action he is taking to tackle agricultural crime, including the stealing of farm machinery and livestock, particularly in Border areas. [9238/14]

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Gerry Adams

Question:

531. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to outline the supports, including financial supports, that are available from his Department to assist citizens, in particular farmers, to tackle crime threats. [9344/14]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 517, 519 and 531 together.

I can assure the Deputies that I am very much aware of concerns in rural communities about the incidence of crime, and of burglary and theft from farms in particular. These crimes cause deep distress to those affected and have a broader impact in terms of fear of crime in the community.

Garda Operation Fiacla was established to coordinate a sustained national drive against those involved in this type of criminality and has been proven to be successful nationally, with several thousand arrests and prosecutions for burglary offences, reflected in the most recent crime figures which show burglary incidents down by more than 10%.

An Garda Síochána also continue to work closely with communities through Community Alert, Neighbourhood Watch and other organisations to provide expert crime prevention advice. The Garda commitment to this approach was underlined in the new guidelines for communities wishing to set up community crime prevention schemes which were launched by the Commissioner and myself last year. Advice in respect of crimes targeted at farms is also available, including in the form of a Garda Farm Security Booklet.

My Department does not provide direct funding in relation to local crime prevention projects but it has, for many years, provided funding for the Community Alert programme which is operated by Muintir na Tíre in partnership with the Garda authorities and supports over 1,300 local groups. The funding provided by my Department supports the employment and associated costs of a National Coordinator and Development Officers who play a key role in supporting community crime prevention efforts.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the prevention and disruption of agricultural crimes in border areas involves a multi-agency approach including An Garda Síochána, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the Department of Agriculture and Marine Investigation Unit, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (Northern Ireland) and Revenue and Customs here and in Northern Ireland, as well as ongoing Garda liaison with the Irish Farmers Association. In this regard a number of operations are in place including a focus on the movement of livestock, as well as on the theft of farm and plant machinery. These operations take place under the aegis of an agreed Cross-Border Policing Strategy designed to continue the excellent levels of cooperation between both police service in tackling crime.

An Garda Síochána has also established a metal theft forum involving stakeholders particularly affected by this type of crime, including the Irish Farmers' Association and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers association. Building on their existing crime prevention operations and advice, An Garda Síochána has published a Metal Theft Crime Prevention and Reduction Plan, which was developed in close cooperation with the stakeholders who participated in the metal theft forum and it is designed to provide for an effective and multi-agency response to the problem of metal theft, as it affects those in rural as in other areas.

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