asked the Minister for Justice what steps he is taking to suppress the wave of vandalism sweeping through Dublin and other parts of the country.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Control of Vandalism.
30.
I assume that by "vandalism", the Deputy means malicious damage to property. This, of course, can take many forms, ranging from trivial damage by youngsters to major damage costing a great deal of money.
I am informed by the Garda Síochána that they have no reason to believe that there is any appreciable increase in such offences in recent years and that it is quite clear that the number of serious offences of this kind has actually declined, the figures for last year being 18 per cent lower than in the preceding year.
The less serious incidents of malicious damage are, however, particularly difficult to detect, except where members of the public are able and willing to come forward with information, and even a substantial increase in Garda strength would be unlikely to make very much difference in these cases.
As far as the more serious—that is to say, indictable—offences of malicious damage are concerned, the number was, as I have said, down last year by 18 per cent, from 192 to 157. Furthermore, the already high detection rate of 70 per cent went up to 73 per cent.
Could the Minister say if, as is implied in the question, the incidence of this kind of vandalism is greater in the Dublin area than in Longford-Westmeath?
That is a separate matter.