The Minister has our full co-operation in an objective and constructive way in the work to be undertaken by that committee the setting up of which, as the Minister knows, we proposed. We welcome his setting up of this committee. In relation to the last question on housebreaking, I am sorry to have to dwell on this but this is a very urgent problem, particularly in many of our suburban areas at present. I accept that the Minister has said that extra gardaí will be on the beat and he has mentioned that some ad hoc home watch experiments will be carried out by communities. Will he undertake to get some real support from the Garda for these home watch experiments? I appreciate that they are being carried out on an ad hoc basis, but surely the position at present is so urgent that we should have something more vigorous by way of experiment and back-up for these undertakings. The problem is the question of bringing a package together that will get the kind of results we want. I accept the points the Minister is making and I ask him to look urgently at the need for a package involving legislation, gardaí on the beat, support for the Garda and relations with the community so that they can be brought together in a practical way with a view to overcoming this problem. Will he give an undertaking that during the recess he will have some attention brought to this problem?

(Limerick East): I agree with the fundamental point that a package is necessary to deal with the problems as I perceive them now. Maybe “package” is the wrong metaphor. Perhaps we can talk about parts of a jigsaw which can be slotted in at various times over the coming months. The Deputy is aware that the Criminal Justice (Community Service) Bill passed through the Seanad today. This is a significant part of the picture. Extra gardaí are a significant part; the deployment of the gardaí is significant; extra sergeants are significant; the Criminal Justice Bill which I will be introducing next session will be very significant. I accept that it is necessary to formalise the work of communities in association with the Garda. The community watch idea is being discussed on the basis, unfortunately, of limited knowledge. There is the difficulty that what might solve the problem in one community might transfer the problem to an adjacent community, which has been the experience abroad.

I take the point the Deputy has made and I am considering what approach can be made to achieving the result he has suggested. The Garda are very much aware of the problem of community relations. We have appointed a chief superintendent specifically in charge of relations between the Garda and the community, but of course each individual garda in uniform must be the ombudsman for the force, and in the final analysis it is the personal relationships the individual garda on the beat builds up that will be most important, even more important than any structures we may come up with subsequently.