The Cabinet is to have a detailed discussion on crime today in response to an aide memoir from the Minister for Justice, Brian Lenihan, seeking Ministers' views on the priorities he should set for An Garda Síochána.
Under the terms of the Garda Síochána Act, 2005, the Minister for Justice is empowered to set down the priorities for the force and Mr Lenihan has indicated his intention to do so in the near future.
Before he proceeds, he has decided to seek the views of his Cabinet colleagues on the issue and has drafted a document outlining his views on the main issues confronting the gardaí at present.
No final decisions on setting priorities for the Garda are expected to be made at the Cabinet meeting.
However, the Minister has indicated that he would like to get the views of his Cabinet colleagues before he proceeds to draft those priorities.
The Government believes that now is the appropriate time to set the priorities for the Garda for the next few years.
This follows the decision to appoint Fachtna Murphy, the current Deputy Commissioner, who will succeed Noel Conroy as Garda Commissioner when he retires next month.
Gun crime is the main issue of interest in the media but Ministers are reported to be equally concerned with other issues like drug-dealing and smaller scale crime that is impacting directly on the daily lives of their constituents.
The discussion on crime at the Cabinet is not expected to lead to a new package of measures to combat the current situation.
There is a view in Government that enough tough new legislation to deal with crime was brought into force over the past five years.
Instead, today's discussion will focus on the kind of priorities that should be formally set down for implementation by the Garda.
The Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, informed the Dáil last week that the Government had been discussing the issue of crime at some length during recent Cabinet meetings.
He told the Labour Party leader, Eamon Gilmore, on Thursday that a considerable amount of time had been allowed for a discussion on the issue tomorrow.
Mr Gilmore asked the Government to consider making time available in the Dáil to allow the Minister for Justice to discuss the crime situation, particularly in the light of the serious problem of gun crime and gangland shootings.
Following the Dáil exchange, the Government agreed to make time available to discuss the crime issue this week and the issue will dominate business tomorrow with statements on crime the main issue on the agenda.
Having listened to his Cabinet colleagues today and the members of the Dáil tomorrow, the Minister will then proceed to issue his priorities to the Garda to fight crime at all levels.
