Vol. 501 No. 4
1 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Taoiseach if a question in relation to crime has been included, or is proposed for inclusion, in the quarterly household survey; if so, the specific wording of the question; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4832/99]
In the fourth quarter of 1998 the CSO included a module on crime and victimisation in the quarterly national household survey, in addition to the regular questions on the population and labour force. The module included over 50 questions and I will forward a full copy of these to the Deputy.
The main topics covered included the incidence, type, location and other relevant aspects of crime in the past year; whether or not crimes were reported to the Garda Síochána; household security and people's perceptions of crime and safety.
The relevant information was collected in the three month period from September to November 1998 and it is hoped that results will be available in the middle of this year.
(Mayo): I welcome the Minister of State's reply. This is a positive measure which will provide a valuable comparison and cross-reference with the official statistics. The questions asked in the survey seem comprehensive but will the Minister of State outline whether there was consultation with the Garda Síochána or the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform when drafting the questions?
I thank the Deputy for his welcome. He was perhaps the first to suggest the inclusion of such questions in the survey and it is now being dealt with. The questions were framed in consultation with an expert advisory group on which the Garda Síochána, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Department of the Taoiseach, the ESRI, Trinity College, the North-Eastern Health Board and the National Council on Ageing and Older People were represented. There was a wide consultation process.
Over 50 questions were asked and I will be fascinated to see the answers which are due shortly. They solicited a broad range of people's perceptions on crime and the types of crime and such qualitative information which will be very useful. It will be interesting to see how the results compare with the official figures.
(Mayo): Do the questions relate to people's personal experiences of crime or to general crime in the area? Will this be a feature of the quarterly household survey henceforth?
This is an extensive survey and there are no plans to repeat it every quarter. However, we will have to repeat it at some stage but I am not sure when that will be. We will see how this turns out and how the results compare with the official figures. I cannot see us not repeating the exercise at an appropriate time. We will consider when that will be when we see the results.
The questions are largely personal. They ask people if they have had their vehicles stolen; whether the vehicles were stolen from the house, street, garage, shops and so on; when the vehicle was recovered; whether the theft was reported to the Garda Síochána; what type of crime people were victims of; whether they were injured; whether they have burglar alarms in their houses and, if so, whether they work and so on.
One question in which I am interested asks the main reason for not reporting a crime to the Garda Síochána. A number of possible answers are supplied. The questions mainly relate to personal experiences but I do not know if they are regionally based.
