The Minister for Justice has claimed some "early success" for a major Garda operation targeted at gangland crime and illegal firearms but he said the Government recognised that more remains to be done.
Michael McDowell also warned that any reading of the latest crime figures should take into account the increase in the population of the State over the past 10 years.
Speaking as he published provisional crime figures for the first half of 2005, Mr McDowell said that in 1995, with a population of almost 3.6 million, there were 29 crimes per 1,000 of the population.
For the 12-month period to June 30 thlast, with a population of over four million, there were 24 crimes per 1,000 of population.
He said that over the lifetime of the current Government, the number of gardaí had increased steadily from a low of 10,816 in 1995, or one garda to every 335 people, to 12,209 gardai at the start of this year, or one garda to every 331 people.
By the end of 2006, the combined strength of An Garda Siochana will stand at 14,000, the minister said. This would result in a ratio of one garda to every 298 people, based on a projected population of 4.2 million.
Expressing concern about the number of violent deaths, Mr McDowell noted the number of cases of possession of firearms increased by 3 per cent when compared to the first half of 2004. The increase was 39 per cent in the second quarter of this year compared directly with the same period last year.
This, he said, reflected "some early success" for Operation Anvil, launched by the Garda last May to combat gun crime and "an emerging gun culture in Dublin".
Mr McDowell said: "Operation Anvil is an intensive special policing operation which is operating by means of mobile and foot patrols, random checkpoints, searches and continued gathering and collation of high quality criminal intelligence.
"The gardaí have experienced considerable success to date with 420 arrests and 83 firearms seized up to 30 June. A number of investigations are ongoing and investigation files will be submitted to the DPP for directions. €6.5 million has been allocated to the operation from this year's allocation to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform."
"On previous occasions when I have provided statistical information, or commented on crime trends, I have urged caution about the danger of extrapolating trends over short periods. The Government recognise, however, that more remains to be done, and this is reflected in the Government's comprehensive approach, through the recruitment of an additional 2,000 Gardaí, the resourcing of the Gardaí for specialist targeted operations such as Anvil and measures to strengthen the criminal law."