Eamonn Maloney TD
Response by Paschal Donohoe TD, Minister for European Affairs on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter TD
On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, I would like to thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Minister regrets that he is unable to be present today due to other business.
The Minister would not consider it appropriate to comment on remarks made by a member of the Judiciary, apparently during the course of court proceedings. Law enforcement policy is, of course, a matter for the Executive. Accordingly, the Minister will curtail his comments to the general proposition that the assistance of Civil Defence is required in respect of policing arrangements in Tallaght, or indeed any other part of the country.
The underlying concern here is the provision of effective policing, and the Minister does of course share the Deputy’s desire that the most effective strategies to counter and prevent crime are pursued in Tallaght and elsewhere. In this regard the Minister is in ongoing contact with the Garda Commissioner who assures him that the very significant resources available to An Garda Síochána are effectively deployed to meet policing needs in the Tallaght area, with 174 members of the force assigned to the Tallaght sub-district, supplemented by 14 members of the Garda Reserve and supported by 11 civilian staff.
Furthermore, the Garda Síochána National Policing Plan has a very strong focus on active engagement with communities to support crime reduction and crime prevention. This strategic approach also guides local policing plans which are tailored to the specific circumstances in each area. The Minister is assured that local Garda management closely monitor all crime trends and community safety concerns in Tallaght with a particular focus on preventing crimes of violence against persons and property.
In this regard the Minister is advised that Garda figures for the year 2013 indicate a reduction of 11% in incidents of violent crime as well as a 22% reduction in public order offences in the Tallaght sub-district, in comparison to the year 2012. These reductions are broadly in line with the overall crime trends nationally, which have seen most categories of crime falling, and reflect well of the work of An Garda Síochána.
The Minister is very conscious of the serious concerns in the Tallaght area arising from two recent violent deaths. Both incidents are under active investigation, with all the necessary Garda resources devoted to these tasks, and several charges have been brought in respect of one of the incidents. In the circumstances, it would not be appropriate for the Minister to comment further on the particular cases other that to encourage anyone who has information which might be of assistance to come forward.
In conclusion, the Minister would not accept the proposition that the assistance of Civil Defence is required in respect of the policing arrangements in Tallaght, or indeed any other area. The role of Civil Defence, as a volunteer-based organisation, is to support emergency services and this generally occurs in relation to matters such as dealing with severe weather, flooding, major accidents, fire fighting and searching for missing people. The organisation is trained and equipped accordingly and its role, authority and capabilities do not extend to policing or crime prevention matters. In light of this, the Minister considers that it would neither be appropriate nor effective to engage Civil Defence in support of general measures to combat crime.
An Garda Síochána, as the national police force, is the body with the appropriate authority, expertise and resources to combat and prevent crime, and rightly has the widespread support of the community to that end.