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An Garda Síochána

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 February 2022

Tuesday, 15 February 2022

Questions (618)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

618. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if she has engaged with the Garda Commissioner and or the Garda traffic corps in respect of developing a proactive strategy to address the issue of the State's motorway network being used by criminal gangs and persons to commit acts of burglary and assault. [8397/22]

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Written answers

As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including Garda operations aimed at preventing and detecting crime. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

I can inform the Deputy that both I and my senior officials are in regular and frequent communication with the Garda Commissioner and his senior management team. These engagements take various forms and cover the full range of issues of relevance to our roles.

As the Deputy will be aware, Operation Thor was launched in November 2015 and is focused on burglary and burglary-related crime, particularly over the winter months, when instances of burglary increase. I am informed that Operation Thor proactively targets organised crime gangs and repeat offenders through coordinated crime prevention and enforcement activity based on intelligence and the latest crime trends and patterns to protect communities.

This annual focus from Operation Thor has proved highly successful in tackling property related crime since its inception in November 2015, with incidents of residential burglary significantly reduced nationally since its introduction. In 2015, there were in excess of 18,800 residential burglaries reported. By contrast, to the end of 2021 there were just over 6,000 residential burglaries reported, a reduction of over 66% or approximately 13,000 less residential burglaries.

While the COVID-19 pandemic was clearly a factor in some of this reduction, with people more likely to be present in their homes throughout the day, there has been a marked and consistent downward trend in such offences since the introduction of this Garda focus through Operation Thor.

One of the five main focuses of Operation Thor is Crime Prevention and Protecting Communities, including visible focused patrols at specific times of day, targeting burglary ‘hot-spots’, intelligence gathering on known offenders, high-visibility check points to prevent ease of movement, strong crime prevention communications and reassurance with communities.

The budget provided by Government to the Garda Commissioner continues to increase to unprecedented levels, with an allocation in excess of €2 billion for 2022, including funding for the recruitment of up to 800 additional Garda trainees and up to 400 Garda staff. This significant investment demonstrates the Government's commitment to increasing the Garda workforce to enable the organisation to keep our communities safe.

Budget 2022 also allocated €12m for investment in the Garda fleet, which means more high visibility policing in our towns and cities and on our roads. This continuing investment is intended to ensure that An Garda Síochána has a modern, effective and fit-for-purpose fleet and that Gardaí can be mobile, visible and responsive on the roads and in the community to prevent and tackle crime.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that a key element of the work of the Roads Policing Unit is denying criminals the use of the roads network. In addition to focusing on the lifesaver offences of speeding, seatbelts, mobile phones and driving under the influence, there is a significant focus on crime prevention and crime detection. Roads Policing work closely with crime units to target known criminals and to disrupt their activities through strict enforcement of road traffic legislation.

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