Crime figures 'rocketing' - Opposition

Opposition parties today criticised the Government's record on fighting crime following the release of latest figures by the …

Opposition parties today criticised the Government's record on fighting crime following the release of latest figures by the CSO.

Fine Gael's justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said the figures show that violent crime has "rocketed" in the last three years.

"Since Michael McDowell's first full year as Justice Minister in 2003, murder is up 43 per cent, discharge of firearms offences up 39 per cent, and rape is up 25 per cent," Mr O'Keeffe said.

He blamed the rise in violent crimes on a lack of Garda resources.

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"By refusing to provide An Garda Síochána with the necessary resources when it needed them, Minister McDowell has made it one of the most under-resourced police forces in Europe," Mr O'Keeffe claimed.

Labour's Brendan Howlin said today's figures made for "very bleak" reading and were a "clear indication that Minister McDowell has lost the battle with crime".

He said: "While the Minister has promised plan after plan to tackle these crimes, the simple fact remains that increasing the number of visible gardaí on the street would both deter criminals and reassure the public.

"The failure of the Minister to increase the Grada strength to 14,000 remains his single biggest failing, and the one for which the public are bearing the cost."

However, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell welcomed the figures.

"Using CSO census data and inter-census estimates of population, the crime rate per 1,000 of the population dropped from 26 in 2003 to 24.5 in 2006, with the figures for 2004 and 2005 being 24.5 and 24.8 respectively, he said.

"The crime rate per 1,000 of the population in 2006 was therefore the lowest in the period of office of this Government. By way of comparison, the crime rate per 1,000 of the population in 1996, the last full year of the Rainbow Government, was 27.8," he added.