This morning the people of Dublin woke up to yet another murder, the 19th this year. Familiarity breeds contempt. Today, executions, hits and gun crime are rife across the capital city. It is only a few weeks since coked up psychopaths in flak jackets and top of the range cars went head to head with machine guns on the M50, which was turned into the Irish equivalent of the Los Angeles freeway. On that occasion luck, rather than the law, prevented somebody completely innocent from being murdered in the crossfire. Crime figures are not just statistics. They are the evidence of murder and terror spreading across the city and they are the reality behind the 71% increase in murder, the 22% increase in robbery and the 25% increase in theft from vehicles. This is what is behind the necessity to feed the coke habit costing €1,000 a day, which is rampant in the city and which is about to be further enhanced with the arrival of methylamphetamine from the US.

Only 12 of the 75 murders committed with weapons between 1998 and 2004 ended in conviction. The Taoiseach's Government promised to make people safe on the streets and in their homes following five years of zero tolerance introduced by the current Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism. Nine years after a change in the bail laws, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is reviewing it so that those who are out on bail cannot commit further serious crime. Does the Taoiseach accept, despite all the hyperbole and spin, that detection rates have fallen while crime rates are increasing? Does he not see the relevance of constant complaints by the Garda about the lack of facilities for its members to do their job and keep the citizens safe both in their homes and on the streets? Given the statistics I outlined and the failure over nine years to deal with the constantly increasing threat to society, what will the Taoiseach do about it?

What we are doing about it is——

Nothing.

——putting more gardaí on the street, giving the Garda more resources, providing more prison places for offenders and providing more resources for individual initiatives such as Operation Anvil to target criminal gangs directly. Deputy Kenny is correct that murders for the first quarter increased from nine to 12, which is 12 too many. There are more decreases than increases if one goes through the figures in each category of crime.

The issue is not just about statistics. We must try to do all we can to resource the Garda through its numbers, the laws it enforces and the actions it needs to take to curb crime. The Garda is doing a very good job in many areas, but in a limited number of areas it is up against some very vicious criminals and thugs. Until April this year, 377 firearms were seized under Operation Anvil and more than 2,100 arrests were made for serious crimes, including murder and serious assault. This shows the level of firearms in society. Most of those guns have been found in and around two cities. There have been decreases in many categories of robbery, such as robberies of cash goods in transit, which are down 40%, while robberies from establishments are down 7%. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform informed the Garda Commissioner that he will provide a further €10 million this year towards special Garda operations and tackling specific forms of crime, including burglaries and other offences that have risen in number.

There are 1,740 more gardaí than there were when this Government took office. The accelerated recruitment, which is well under way, will bring the number in the force up to 14,000. Under this programme, 275 gardaí came on stream last month and an additional 275 will come on stream every 90 days from now on. The Garda has been given resources in every area in which it demanded them.

That is not true.

The Garda budget stands at €1.3 billion, representing an increase of 13%.

What about the increase in the population?

That is an enormous increase in the budget. Economic commentators tell us that the budget increase has been far greater than should have been the case, but we have increased it because of the issues we must confront.

Three gardaí were hospitalised last week.

Why has it taken nine years to begin to realise that the bail laws need to be reviewed, given that serious crimes, including murders, have been committed by persons out on bail? Does the Taoiseach realise the social impact of 100,000 headline crimes committed every year during the tenure of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform? If the Government lasts its full term, it will have presided over almost half a million headline crimes. The Taoiseach stated that there are more gardaí on the streets and that resources are being provided, but in reply to parliamentary questions a couple of weeks ago, the Minister admitted that the green man system is obsolete and that it will not be replaced for several years, according to priority established by him. Gardaí with inferior communications are up against vicious, criminal organisations in a number of locations. Gardaí in this and other cities have told me that they are calling their stations on their own mobile phones. In some places, gardaí have to travel to the scene of crimes and accidents in hired taxis while others are driving around in vehicles that have been involved in several crashes and are not roadworthy, as was shown in a tragic case where one of these vehicles crashed.

Former Deputy Charlie Flanagan — soon to be a Deputy again — pointed out that in Portlaoise Garda station, which houses 120——

Allow Deputy Kenny to conclude.

Of 120 members in Portlaoise Garda station, a town in which the highest maximum security prison in the State is located, there is only one bullet-proof vest available. Is this not an indictment of a Government that has spun the most sophisticated web of high rhetoric, hyperbole and nonsense? The central remit of the Government in terms of crime is that the people would be safe on the streets and in their homes, but neither has happened and that is an indictment of the whole Government, particularly of he who speaks most about what should be done but fails to do it.

Deputy Kenny would not like me to remind him of his views of the bail laws, the revolving door and the pressure we had to put to bring about a referendum to deal with those issues.

We introduced that referendum.

We recall that debate very well. We had to force a bail referendum to prevent dangerous criminals from obtaining bail. Implementation of that system is a matter for the courts. Deputy Kenny wants to give the impression that we have not got more gardaí, that we have not invested more and that we have not got more resources, but he knows that is untrue.

It is not untrue.

It is entirely untrue. We have refused no request by the Garda Commissioner, be it for communications, vehicles, computer systems or whatever. We have provided resources for Operation Anvil and specialised programmes and huge amounts have been provided for overtime to assist the Garda in its work.

What about the lack of community gardaí——

Deputy Healy is not a member of Fine Gael and I ask him to remain silent.

There are 1,200 extra prison places.

There is not a single community garda.

I ask the Deputy to remain silent.

They are empty because of a shortage of staff.

Headline crime increased by 8% in the first quarter of 2006 compared with the same quarter of 2005, and I am not dodging that fact. There was an increase of about 7% across a number of categories, but it is a mixed picture. A total of 25 headline offences have been listed by the Garda, in 13 of which decreases were recorded and in 12 increases were recorded.

Offences like murder.

There were nine such offences in the first quarter of last year and the figure is 12 this year. If the Deputy knows about others who have been murdered and are not included in the figures, he should report them to the Garda.

There were four such incidents this weekend.

Deputy Howlin's leader will have an opportunity to submit a question.

Deputy McCormack asked about the population issue. I do not like giving comparisons based on population figures because they can be meaningless, but the level of headline crime per capita is significantly lower than it was a decade ago. In 1995, with a population of 3.6 million people, there were 29 crimes per thousand of the population. The most recent figures show that with a population of 4.1 million, there were 25 crimes——

Three gardaí were hospitalised last week. How does the Taoiseach explain that?

I ask the Deputy to remain silent and allow the Taoiseach to speak.

When I reply to Deputies' questions the figures do not suit them. The figure was reduced to 25 crimes per thousand of the population. There is a significant decrease in crime, based on the facts. As long as any crime infringes on people's rights, all we can do in a democracy is to resource the Garda, increase its numbers and assist in whatever way we can to fight criminals in the limited areas of significant crime. Senior gardaí have made it clear they experience persistent difficulties in a limited number of areas.

People shooting each other on the motorway — that is limited.