Anyone who injures a garda on duty should see real jail time

Government must get real about the existential crisis it faces in Justice

THE key theme Aontú will deal with when it comes to our conference is the existential crisis Ireland is facing when it comes to justice, policing, and immigration. Sadly, our judgment has to be that instead of focusing on the two biggest responsibilities in the Department of Justice – immigration and crime – Minister Helen McEntee has been distracted by culture war battles such as the hate speech Bill.

It’s quite clear that we have reached a dangerous tipping point in crime and anti-social behaviour. Under this Government, Ireland is becoming a more violent and dangerous place. Murder, rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, burglary, theft of vehicles, assault or obstruction of gardaí, human trafficking, and stalking are all increasing.

I held a public meeting in Meath recently to put pressure on Ms McEntee to lift Meath from the bottom rung in per-capita garda numbers. Women working in retail told me that children are shop-lifting in broad daylight. These children then threaten the women with rape if they dare go to the gardaí. These women don’t go to the gardaí. They get a lift to and from work each day, being too fearful to walk. These are some of the many crime figures that never get registered.

The spike in violent crime has not happened by accident. The number of gardaí is at its lowest in five years. When population increases are considered, percapita Garda numbers today are among the lowest for a generation. Indeed, Ireland has now one of the smallest police forces per capita in the EU. Garda resignations and retirements are up significantly. It has been reported to me that in some months resignations account for the majority of exits from the force. Gardaí are voting with their feet and leaving well before their retirement date.

Despite all the talk by the Government, and despite the photo shoots of the Minister for Justice walking the street with gardaí, more guards are leaving the force than are joining.

One of the major causes of this is welfare. The data that I have been given shows that, every day in Ireland, at least one garda is violently assaulted. And as the numbers of gardaí fall, the remaining members of the force become more exposed and vulnerable to violent assault.

There is no doubt that there is a direct correlation between the spike in violent crime and the collapse in Garda numbers.

Prisons are so overcrowded that the minister has to release inmates early to make way for new prisoners. Some criminals have been granted practical immunity.

In recent months we have seen an increase in road deaths. Aontú has received data that shows that there has been a 36% collapse in the number of gardaí policing the roads in the past 13 years. This fall is directly related to the tragic increase in the number of people dying on our roads. Driver behaviour is changing for the worse as people know they are unlikely to meet a checkpoint.

Gardaí are telling me that they are forced to police with their hands tied behind their backs, and that An Garda Síochána is being run like a dictatorship.

Dysfunction reigns at the top, with the GRA refusing to invite Commissioner Drew Harris to their conference. The best the Justice Minister could do was return the snub to the GRA by not turning up. The Government needs to get all the necessary stakeholders in a room and force dialogue and co-operation.

The Government must get real about Garda welfare. Aontú has published a Bill that would see a minimum custodial sentence for anyone who injures a garda on duty. Unless the minister gets real in providing proper pay and conditions for gardaí, young people will not join. And gardaí must be allowed to police instead of dealing with a forest of paperwork.

On the separate issue of immigration, the minister has been a disaster. Until opinion polls started to show that 70% of the Irish people are deeply uncomfortable with the Government’s policy on immigration, the minister seemed oblivious to what was happening.

Parliamentary questions have shown that it was taking years for the asylum process to make first decisions for thousands and thousands of asylum applicants. It often takes 10 years for an applicant to exhaust all of the appeals before a final decision is made. Then, incredibly, according to another Aontú PQ, only 15% of deportation orders are actioned.

I asked the minister the whereabouts of the other 85% of people who had received a deportation order. She could not say for sure.

Last year 5,000 people came through Dublin Airport without a travel document or a passport. And the minister did nothing. Last year I asked the minister where asylum seekers were applying for asylum. Incredibly, she told me that 75% of asylum seekers apply at the International Protection Office in Dublin city centre. I asked how they came into the country. She could not say. She stated that they were not asked that question. This is breathtaking incompetence. Now we learn that 80% of asylum seekers are coming across the border from the North.

A small number of far-right ethno-nationalists are harvesting the growing discontent caused by the Government’s total mismanagement The Government is refusing to engage with communities, creating a petri dish for rumour. Immigrants who have lived here and made valuable contributions for decades are telling me they feel less safe. We need a system based on compassion and common sense. The common sense has been completely missing.