The tragic murders last weekend of an 81 year old man, Paddy Logan, in his home in Castlejordan, County Meath, and an 18 month old baby boy, Oisin O'Reilly, bring into focus the need for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, as a matter of extreme urgency, to meet the Garda Commissioner to devise an appropriate strategy to combat the upsurge in violent crime.
There has been a sharp rise in both the numbers of murders and in the level of serious crime compared to last year. So far, 28 people have been murdered this year, which is a staggering statistic. A total of 28 violent deaths so far this year is an unprecedented figure. Victim Support, the voluntary group which provides an alert service for elderly and vulnerable people, has estimated that up to 1,400 elderly people were the victims of crime last year.
These statistics reveal an appalling and tragic story that is affecting many people and their families countrywide because every one is a horror story of torment that will change forever the lives of those elderly people and rob them of a quality of life. The figures are also a very severe indictment of this Government's record in fighting crime. Elderly people, particularly those living in isolated rural areas, are vulnerable to attack from criminal gangs who prey on people who live alone. It was particularly sad to read in newspaper reports over recent days that Paddy Logan, who was killed at the weekend, had been a victim of crime in recent months.
It is imperative that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, with the Garda Commissioner, meets officials from Victim Support to devise a strategy to combat serious crime and crime against the elderly in particular. He must then set out that strategy to this House and provide the full means to implement it. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, we read, believes that our crime levels have returned to the levels of the 1950s, or so he boasts. If he believes that, he is living in cloud cuckoo land.
It is now abundantly clear that the Minister's so-called zero tolerance policy has no basis in reality. It is nothing more than a figment of the his imagination. His policy is in tatters in the criminal area and in other areas and it is having no effect in reducing the level of serious crime throughout the country.
By his own admission last week, 13 criminal gangs are at their evil work bringing death to our streets. As the Minister for Health and Children knows only too well, the heroin problem grows daily in intensity and viciousness, with deaths now resulting from contaminated product adding to the vicious deaths from the gangs who control this insidious trade.
The Minister's clear failure to tackle crime is undermining confidence in the Garda Síochána and is tempting many people to turn to unacceptable alternatives. We have seen the consequences of the erosion of public confidence in policing in Northern Ireland. We must not allow self styled law enforcers to gain ground in this jurisdiction. I advise the Minister that some of these people are at work in this city.
Once again, fear has become a feature of Irish life, in our cities, among our elderly living alone, even among young males afraid of assault on our streets. All this is an indictment of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, his policies and his efforts. He should stop making bogus and misleading claims about crime levels and congratulating himself. He should instead ensure that the serious threat which criminal gangs pose to the safety of communities and citizens is tackled. On the evidence to date, the Minister is better at promoting his public image than doing the vital job entrusted to him by this House and the Irish people.