Vol. 430 No. 7
6 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Justice if she will make provision for an additional Garda station to cover the Knocklyon, Scholarstown, Firhouse and Ballyboden areas of County Dublin in the light of the growth in the population and the increase in crime in these areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
30 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to the serious increase in crime in the Tallaght area of County Dublin; if she intends to provide any additional gardaí for the area to deal with the problem; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
71 Mr. Flood asked the Minister for Justice the total Garda strength in the Tallaght area of Dublin; if she has any plans to increase the number of gardaí in the area in view of serious concerns expressed by community groups and individual residents in relation to the apparent escalation of reported and unreported crime in the area; the reason Tallaght, which is comparable in population size to Limerick city, has considerably less Garda personnel and supporting Garda resources; and if she will take action to redress the situation in favour of Tallaght.
I propose to take Question Nos. 6, 30 and 71 together.
While there has been a sizeable increase in population of the areas referred to in the questions, the Garda authorities inform me that the present resources at Tallaght and Rathfarnham are adequate to meet the policing needs of these areas. With regard to the provision of an additional Garda station, the Garda authorities are of the view that, quite apart from the capital cost involved, manning it would absorb manpower which could be better used on outdoor patrol duties. The essential point the Garda authorities make is that it is far better to maximise the number of gardaí available for outdoor patrol and crime prevention duties rather than tie up manpower indoors in manning a new station with the additional burden of administrative work which this would inevitably involve.
The present strength of Rathfarnham station is 60 compared with 52 in 1989 and the strength at Tallaght has increased from 101 to 114 over the same period. There are also three civilian clerical staff employed at Rathfarnham and five at Tallaght. Both of these stations are open on a 24-hour basis. The Knocklyon, Scholarstown, Firhouse and Ballyboden areas are patrolled by two community gardaí. They liaise with the local residents through the 21 neighbourhood watch schemes which operate in these areas. They also attend local meetings and meet with public representatives particularly if there are special concerns. In addition, these areas are patrolled daily by other uniformed and plain clothes units.
There are two sergeants and 18 gardaí on community policing duties in the Tallaght area who are involved in maintaining close contact with the community, especially the young people. There are also 32 neighbourhood watch schemes operating in the area. The sub-district of Tallaght is patrolled by uniformed and plain clothes members on foot and by mobile patrols. There is a total of nine vehicles attached to Tallaght Garda station. Of course, the gardaí at Tallaght can call on additional support from outside the district or division when required.
The Garda authorities inform me that the provisional crime figures for 1992 for both the Tallaght and Rathfarnham areas show a welcome decrease over the previous year.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that policing arrangements for the locality are kept under constant review and adjustments are made when required.
Is the Minister aware that, as opposed to what the Garda authorities are telling her, the local communities in Scholarstown, Knocklyon, Firhouse and Ballyboden, feel that they are not being adequately policed? Is she aware that two Garda patrol men are acting as gardaí on the beat and that that is grossly inadequate for the extensive housing estates within those communities? Is the Minister also aware that many people nowadays believe that telling the Garda about minor incidences of crime is a pointless exercise and that the fall in the figures in the area is due more to the non-reporting of crime than to a reduction in crime?
I am very concerned that the Deputy says that people feel it is useless reporting any crimes to the Garda.
Some minor crimes.
It would appear that the Deputy is alleging that the Garda are not responding. If he has any evidence of instances where people are not prepared to report to the Garda because of lack of response or of instances where a report was made and there was a lack of response, I would be very pleased to raise the matter with the Garda Assistant Commissioner who is responsible for the Dublin Metropolitan Area.
Since the Minister has replied that the Garda have indicated that there is a decrease in the crime statistics in the areas mentioned, would she agree that there is a lack of confidence in these figures and would she ask the advice of the Central Statistics Office for a more average way of measuring the level of crime, particularly in the Dublin region?
I think it is wrong for the Deputy to suggest that the figures being presented are inaccurate. All the crimes reported to the Garda are the ones which are included in the CSO figures.
Contrary to what the Minister says, I am not impugning the Garda in any way in talking about the lack of minor crime in the area, I am saying that in the context of the local community being aware that the Garda are under pressure. Is the Minister aware that there was a meeting within the Knocklyon community not so long ago when a request was made that more gardaí be made available on the beat and that it is impossible for Rathfarnham Garda station to do that when only two gardaí are available to service this section of the community? I would ask the Minister to arrange, first, that additional gardaí be assigned to the Rathfarnham Garda station to service this part of the Rathfarnham Garda station's area. In conclusion, is the Minister aware that there has been a station in Rathfarnham and one in Tallaght for many years and the community in that area is now so large that it warrants an additional Garda station, additional Garda patrol cars and a separate group of Garda personnel to cover that area?
Rathfarnham Garda station is open on a 24-hour basis and the Garda strength in that station has increased in the past number of years. I do not share the Deputy's view that providing more than one Garda station in an area is the answer to the problem. Unfortunately, every time a new Garda station is opened — a station which is not replacing an existing one — gardaí are taken off the beat, out of patrol cars and put in to man such stations. I do not believe that is what Deputy Shatter or the people in that area want. I want to see more gardaí on the beat and the only way to do that is to have an accelerated recruitment campaign to the Garda to provide the necessary extra men and women on the beat.
Is the Minister aware that the population of Tallaght is the same as that of Limerick, but that there are three times more gardaí in Limerick than in Tallaght? Is she aware that when a rent collector was assaulted in the Tallaght area recently it took more than one hour for a Garda car to come to the scene in order to apprehend the culprits which, of course, was much too late? The only car available at the time was tied up in Rathfarnham courthouse. Will the Minister agree that that is totally unacceptable for an area with such a high population?
I am not aware of the incident to which Deputy Harney referred but I will certainly investigate it. She stated that the Garda car was not available because of gardaí being involved in court. I am concerned that so much Garda time is being taken up waiting to give evidence in various court cases and I will address that issue in the Criminal Justice Bill, in the second part of the public order legislation which will be introduced in the autumn.
The answer to the problem in each case must be the provision of more gardaí Garda strength has been increased in the Tallaght and Rathfarnham areas since 1989 and I understand from the Assistant Commissioner of the DMA with responsibility for that area, that the Garda strength in that area will continue to increase in the future.
As there are only two community liaison officers operating in Rathfarnham, will the Minister not agree that there is a conflict in the figures given by the senior Garda authorities and the view of the community liaison officers who attend meetings in the local community and believe they are under-resourced? Will the Minister consider consulting with Rathfarnham Garda station directly to discuss the possibility of increasing the number of community liaison officers as the people of the area do not believe the strength of that force is sufficient to meet their needs?
I would be delighted to consult any divisional headquarters regarding their views on manning problems and necessary resources. As I am sure the Deputy is aware, I have been doing that since I became Minister for Justice and I will continue to do so. It is regrettable that there should be a difference of opinion between community liaison officers and the Garda management either at divisional headquarters or in the DMA generally. Those dealing with the issues on the ground have first-hand knowledge about what is required in an area.
