In the programme for Government, the Taoiseach stated it was intended to create a society where all people could feel safe in their communities, businesses and homes. While last weekend's weather was bad, it was even worse for crime on the streets. An innocent young woman, Babia Saulite, was assassinated on her doorstep, two young girls were sexually assaulted in Dublin and an elderly priest was savagely beaten with a slash hook or some other bladed instrument. I wonder what the two Hassan boys would think of those words from the programme for Government if they were able to read?

In the Government's ten years, parts of Dublin and other cities have become a 21st century dodge city. In some locations it has not gone from bad to worse but to the dogs. This is not just the case with organised crime but with murder, rape, beatings and stabbings, all now part of everyday life in cities and rural areas. The murder rate is up by 25%, rape cases by 33% and gun crime by 44%. It is correct that the budget for justice has doubled in the past ten years, but crime rates are soaring and detection rates are falling. The human traffickers caught in Cork yesterday will see from the statistics that no serious crime boss has been jailed in the past five years. It is perfectly obvious from the statements of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who referred to the murder of the unfortunate Donna Cleary as the sting of a dying wasp that he knows as much about the life cycle of a wasp as he does about the knee-height of a grasshopper.

What is the Government's response to this deplorable situation? What will it do about it? When will we see the 500 extra gardaí and officers out on the streets? When will Garda stations be properly equipped and resourced so that the response time is more immediate and the detection rate more effective? When will hardened criminals be put away for a long time? When will the law get its priorities right and defend and protect home owners in their homes?

I join Deputy Kenny in condemning the murder of the Latvian woman. It was an appalling murder at the weekend. Whether someone is executed by a hit squad or criminal gang or some associated individual does not matter. The way this woman was executed requires us to do everything we can to find the culprits and those who had anything to do with the organisation of the killing.

I can give the records and statistics of what happened last weekend which have been furnished to my Department and the resources that have been committed to dealing with them. All we can do, however, in several of these crimes is to try to catch or prevent these criminals as the legislation empowers us to do. The resources of the Garda are available through Operation Anvil and the special Garda operations and the numbers of gardaí in special units.

Operation Anvil refers only to overtime. It is not a special Garda operation.

We are looking for results, not resources.

It is difficult for the gardaí to be at every house and every street corner. They cannot be there.

Instead of resources we have overtime.

They will do all they can to bring the culprits in the Swords murder, the attack on the young girls in Swords and the other incidents to justice. The Government has discussed this matter. The Garda has stated that it has the resources not only in numbers, but in effectively unlimited overtime in the special units dealing with these issues.

What about CAB?

This applies particularly to the groups on operations to try to stop this type of crime in certain areas. We discussed that in recent weeks. We continue to put more gardaí into the force. We know the number of those coming through the colleges and Templemore. The Commissioner has been reporting to the Minister who has been reporting to the Government. We will just have to continue to do this in every way we can in terms of resources, laws and efforts to stop the culprits. The law and the will of the Garda exist, but it is not always easy to catch the perpetrators of such ferocious crimes.

On the one hand, Ireland can be painted as going from economic strength to economic strength but, on the other, in one weekend a young mother was assassinated, two young girls were sexually assaulted and an elderly priest was savagely beaten. I have attended meetings recently in parts of this city where mothers have said that their children must walk to school past drug pushers on street corners. They have notified the Garda of this, who I hope are taking action.

Other mothers have told me that their children go to school past kerb walkers and prostitutes who return after the gardaí have moved them on. The gun amnesty has not worked. One can buy a Glock, a hit or a life for a few hundred euro in this city. The outcome of last weekend is devastating for everybody concerned and for the reputation of this country.

The Law Reform Commission is the instrument for change in the law. The Fine Gael Party proposed 18 months ago that home defence should be changed by law to the effect that retreat should not be mandatory on a person in his or her home. The Law Reform Commission has recommended this in a consultation paper. The law is inadequate. We need extra protection for homeowners and they should not be asked to retreat when faced with an invasion of their homes and privacy.

Will the Taoiseach act urgently on this recommendation which requires no money, budget or constitutional amendment? It is a straightforward recommendation to give more power to the homeowner to protect and defend his or her home than to the perpetrators of aggressive and invasive crimes.

The Tánaiste has committed to seriously considering the defence and protection of the family home, with a view to its importance to the public as a whole. He has been examining the legal issues involved and these will be taken into account in a consultation paper which will be subject to his approval. The paper sets out the issues surrounding the various points in this matter; it is a long consultation paper. I am not sure it will resolve many of the problems we must deal with but at least both sides of the argument will be put and it will contain the Tánaiste's views on the matter.

The figures on serious crime and murder here compare favourably to those of other countries. That, however, is not the point. There are too many murders and guns. I do not know how much a hit man costs but whether the price is great or small, it is a serious danger.

It is very small.

There are too many hardened criminals at large, regardless of the number of cases. We have told the Garda time and again that we are prepared to provide the resources in the special units, through additional gardaí and overtime, to break these gangs.

We do not have even half the extra gardaí promised two years ago.

The Garda have been successful in some of these cases. I agree these people need to be locked up with lengthy sentences. Although I have seen some briefings on some of these cases, I am not sure whether those involved are criminal gangs or individuals. That, however, should not stop us. We must make an example of some of these hardened gangs or individuals who act for their own reasons and sometimes for related family reasons — we have had a few such cases of late. We must clamp down hard on serious crime. It is neither acceptable nor something that any of us wants to see continue.

Being tough is the only way to deal with crime, through detection and prison sentences, which seem to be all that people understand. We have tough laws and wherever they are lacking, the House has always shown itself ready to bring forward more Bills. We have more criminal justice Bills than other legislative measures before the House in any year, whether to give the Garda numbers or resources. We have a young force now and many special units. We must encourage them and give the Garda every resource possible to deal with criminals because what they try to get away with is unacceptable.