Crime rates in Dublin are up to 70 per cent higher than the average shown in the provisional crime statistics published this week, according to Fine Gael deputy leader Richard Bruton.
Mr Bruton, TD for Dublin North Central, also said the number of gardaí per head of the population was lower in Dublin than the average of one per 331 presented by the Minister for Justice in Monday's figures.
"Averages are, of course, notoriously misleading. The hard reality is that in Dublin crime has increased enormously since 2000."
The real problem in the new suburbs was that there was far too little effective enforcement.
"Young offenders know that there are no places of detention for them. There are no resources for alternatives to detention.
"Restorative justice measures have been on the statute books for years, but the systems of restorative justice and community service orders are simply not being implemented," he said.
"This means that young offenders face no real deterrent."
Asked if he advocated that gardaí move from areas where their numbers were in excess of the national average, and where crime levels were lower, he said: "I am not making the case that rural areas have to be denuded of gardaí for this. I am saying that the Government has to meet the promises it made. It was they who came up with the promise of 2,000 extra gardaí."
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