Tony Gregory
Ceist:669 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of murders committed in 1998 and 1999; the number of charges brought; and the number of suspected gangland murders involved. [1645/00]
Written Answers. - Murder Statistics.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that 38 murders were recorded in 1998, of which 34 were detected and that proceedings were commenced in 26 of the 34 cases. I understand that comparable statistics for 1999 are not yet available.
As the Deputy will appreciate, while the term "gangland killing" is widely used by the media, it does not correspond to the manner in which the Garda Síochána classify crime. The Garda authorities have indicated that organised criminal gangs may have been involved in a number of these murders.