Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:59. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the current ratio of gardaí to citizens in each county in the State, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33729/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 11 July 2023
Ceisteanna (59)
Freagraí ó Béal (8 píosaí cainte)
Meath is a great county with great communities but it is suffering significantly from a wave of crime and antisocial behaviour. Shockingly, Meath has the highest number of burglaries in the country. Some 8,000 families have been devastated by burglary in Meath in just the last ten years. That is equivalent of every home in Dunboyne, a town in the Minister's constituency, being burgled in that period of time. When is the Government going to get serious about Garda numbers nationally and when is Meath going to get the right number of gardaí? We have the lowest number of gardaí per capita in the State year after year and the Minister for Justice is from the county.
As the Deputy will be aware and as I have mentioned a number of times this evening, my priority is to ensure that we continue to increase the number of gardaí, that we do not just reach the target of 15,000 but go beyond it and that we ensure that every community benefits from that increase in numbers. Of course, it is a matter for the Garda Commissioner to decide where gardaí are allocated but he will always look at populations, crime trends and areas where the ratio or percentage is lower. In that regard, over recent years, Meath has seen a 14% increase in its allocation, which can be compared to an average increase of 8%. I fully accept that we have not reached the numbers we need to reach. I have raised this matter both as Minister and as a local Deputy. However, these figures show that, on a sustained basis, a higher percentage of gardaí are going to areas where they are needed. Meath is not the only county where we have seen an explosion in population. Kildare and others have experienced the same challenge.
With regard to the different types of offences and crimes, burglary and related offences are actually down 35%. These are statistics the Garda has given us. Public order and social order code offences are down 23% while controlled drug offences are down 18%, which is due to the significant hard work of An Garda Síochána in Meath. I commend this work. We need to make sure the numbers increase to support those working on the ground but those who are working in our county are the reason we are seeing a 35% reduction in burglaries, an 18% reduction in controlled drug offences and a 23% reduction in public order and social code offences. Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in the number of murders. This is a topic we have discussed previously. A number of people, women in particular, have been murdered in their own homes. It has been a very difficult year or two for gardaí dealing with those types of cases. Again, I pay tribute to them. It takes an enormous amount of teamwork and effort to respond to and deal with those types of crimes.
As I have mentioned, the number of gardaí in Meath has increased by 14%. I am not saying that is enough. We need to continue to increase those numbers. The only way we can do that is by making sure we have the numbers going through Templemore. That is an absolute priority. That number is going in the right direction as new recruits enter the college every 11 weeks.
In fairness, gardaí do not want the Minister's commendation; they want support. That is what they want every day. The number of gardaí in the State has fallen every year Deputy McEntee has been Minister for Justice. That is some record. In every year she has been Minister for Justice, the number of gardaí in the State has fallen. She says she has no role in the allocation of gardaí in County Meath but she could set out policy that ties the number of gardaí to population, within reason. That policy would have to be followed by An Garda Síochána. There is anger and fear in County Meath with regard to this issue. There is a spike in the number of violent assaults and sexual assaults. Drug crime and criminal damage are on the increase. A couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, a car stopped in the middle of a main street and those within felt safe enough to get out and smash the windows of a pub. People are being stabbed and seriously injured in Slane, a town in the Minister's constituency. People are angry and they are looking to the Minister because she has authority in this area. They do not want any more gardaí than any other county; they just want the same as every other county.
I talk to the gardaí in my county and engage with them at every level, from the new recruits coming into our county to the highest level, our chief superintendent. I understand that what we need is more gardaí. We also need to make sure that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, whether that is through capital investment or investment in vehicles, handheld devices, CCTV or body-worn cameras, in respect of which we are bringing through legislation. All of these help measures gardaí respond to the issues the Deputy has just raised.
I have met with many businesses and community members. As recently as Friday, I met with members of An Garda Síochána and members of the local authority to look at ways in which we can support the work of An Garda Síochána. To go back to my previous point, dealing with community safety is not just about An Garda Síochána. It is also about working with the local authorities, education, the youth diversion programmes, the community groups and businesses. That is the approach that needs to be taken, not just in our own county but across the board. I assure the Deputy that Garda numbers are my number one priority in my engagement with the Garda Commissioner. I have every confidence that Meath will receive the increase it deserves, as will other counties.
I do not want to sound rude but I want to communicate the level of anger in County Meath at the fact that Meath is on the bottom rung with regard to the number of gardaí. Ireland has the second lowest number of police per capita in the whole of the European Union. Ireland is one of the worst countries in terms of policing and Meath is the worst in that country. Outside of rhetoric, I have not heard anything that has actually been delivered. Garda numbers, Garda morale and Garda safety are on the floor. We have one of the lowest numbers of personnel in our police force per capita. Hundreds of police are being assaulted every year and hundreds of gardaí are resigning every year. More people are retiring from the Garda force every year and people are voting with their feet by refusing to join An Garda Síochána. More than physical investment is needed. The Minister has to prove to gardaí that it is going to get better, that there will be more gardaí to support them, that it will be a safer place for them to operate and that communities in County Meath will be able to live in peace and harmony.
I disagree with a lot of what the Deputy has just said. Morale is not on the floor. I speak to gardaí every day. I know they need additional members to support them in the work they do. It is simply not correct to say that nobody wants to join. Some 11,000 people applied to join An Garda Síochána last year and there were 5,000 in a competition that happened less than a year after that.
Those are expressions of interest. They are not people joining An Garda Síochána.
We want people to apply and to join. We will work through the process. However, we are now in a situation of full employment and the numbers applying to An Garda Síochána are not reflected across the rest of the public service. The Deputy says that gardaí are leaving in their droves. Less than 1% of gardaí left last year. That does not compare to the numbers leaving private sector employments. In fact, it is much lower. We are doing exit interviews to see if there is more we can do for those who are leaving. It is about investment and protecting gardaí. That is why we have introduced legislation for body-worn cameras and why we have a budget of €2 billion for An Garda Síochána, the highest we have ever seen.