Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 30 Jan 2002

Vol. 547 No. 1

Written Answers. - Garda Operations.

Seán Haughey

Ceist:

926 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the measures he has taken since 1997 to cut crime; the outcome of these policies with regard to Dublin's north side; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1343/02]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

Since July 1997, the I have enacted an unprecedented amount of legislation designed to ensure that criminals will be caught, brought before the courts and dealt with accordingly. To date, 42 Bills have been enacted and there are eight currently awaiting finalisation in the Dáil.

The current strength of the Garda is over 11,700 and overall strength of the force is on course to reach 12,000 by the end of 2002 as promised in the programme for Government. This will represent the greatest number of gardaí in the history of the State. The Government has also approved 496 civilian posts in Garda stations which will release highly trained gardaí to operational duties.

Since taking office, I have provided over 1,200 new additional prison spaces. The number of prisoners on temporary release has been reduced dramatically. Five years ago, 25% of the sentenced population were at large, mostly on unstructured temporary release from prison. Prisoners are no longer released on an unstructured temporary basis. Today, the temporary release figure is approximately 6%. Those not on struc tured programmes have been temporarily released for valid compassionate reasons.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that Operation Oíche has been very successful in focusing attention on and promoting a proactive approach to public order and alcohol related issues within the Dublin region. A more visible Garda presence on the streets has been apparent to members of the public, particularly following public house and night club closings at weekends.

In order to further enhance public safety and to aid crime detection, I have overseen a major expansion of Closed Circuit Television systems. CCTV systems are currently operating in and around O'Connell and Grafton Streets, and also Tralee town centre. A system is currently being installed in Cork city and a number of the cameras in the system are now fully operational.

As part of the first tranche of the expansion programme, CCTV systems are to be installed in ten urban areas around the country. It is anticipated that these systems will be installed by the end of 2002. At least a further six areas will commence in 2003 and they will be announced in due course. I am also pleased to report that my Department has approved a request received from the Garda authorities for the purchase of a mobile CCTV unit.

The results of these policies are to be seen in Dublin north. In his annual report for 2000, the Garda Commissioner outlines the performance of the Garda Síochána. The detection rate for the northern division in the Dublin metropolitan area was 42% compared to 40% in 1997. This report also highlights that there has been a significant decrease in crime in the area since 1997 as the total number of headline offences for 2000 in the area totalled 4,930 as opposed to the comparable total of indictable offences in 1997 totalling 8,439. This is a good indication of how successful Garda management has been in addressing crime in the area, especially when considered in the context of the recent large scale industrial development and population movement into the division.