asked the Minister for Justice if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there has been an 8 per cent increase in burglaries in the Firhouse area of Dublin 14 this year compared with the corresponding period last year; if his attention has further been drawn to the difficulties being experienced by the Garda Síochána in policing this area, due to the reduction by five in Garda numbers in the Rathfarnham station area over the same period; if the Garda Commissioner will give consideration to the difficulties being experienced by the residents and local Garda members alike, in order to provide at the very least personnel for the purposes of neighbourhood policing; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Firhouse (Dublin) Burglaries.
35.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that, while there has been a decrease in the incidence of burglaries in the Rathfarnham Garda subdistrict as a whole in the current year as compared with 1987, there has been an increase in the incidence of such offences in the Firhouse area. However, the authorities also report a significant improvement in the detection rate in respect of burglaries in Firhouse this year as compared with the previous two years.
As regards Garda strength at Rathfarnham station, the Garda authorities report that the current strength of 59 members is the maximum that can be provided at present, having regard to the available resouces and other demands on Garda services in the Dublin Metropolitan Area. There are no proposals at present to extend the community policing scheme, being operated elsewhere in the Dublin area on a pilot basis, to Rathfarnham but the Garda authorities are keeping the police needs of the Rathfarnham subdistrict under review.