FG crime briefing:Fine Gael has defended its claims that the Government has presided over an era of rising crime.
Speaking at a press conference where the party made a series of commitments on tackling crime, justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said the party was "not scaremongering" when it claimed that there had been a doubling in serious crime in the last decade.
"I'm merely quoting from the CSO, from their own document dated April 25th," he said. "There were an estimated 150,700 persons who experienced theft or physical assault, which is approximately double the rate in 1998."
When it was put to him that reported headline offences were the same now, at a time when the population had increased significantly, as in 1995, Mr O'Keeffe said there had been a sharp rise in recent years in the worst offences.
"In particular, the serious crime elements - the rapes, firearm offences, the heinous offences - have gone up seriously," he said. "Last year there was the highest number of murders ever recorded in the State."
He said data showed armed robbery had increased by 71 per cent, gun-related crime had increased by more than 50 per cent, and that the number of burglaries per year had risen by 1,300. Of the €400 million of property stolen over the last five years, only €20 million had been recovered, he claimed.
Mr O'Keeffe also indicated that Fine Gael in government may not reverse the decision to build a replacement prison for Mountjoy on the controversial Thornton Hall site in north Dublin.
The party had previously said it was opposed to the project. Mr O'Keeffe told journalists yesterday that he still believed the purchase of the land for nearly €30 million represented bad value and that it would be reviewed by Fine Gael if elected.
However, he added that contracts for its construction were in the process of being signed.
The party outlined a series of commitments on criminal justice.
Garda numbers on frontline duty would be increased by 2,000 through additional recruitment and civilianisation, although the exact strength this would bring the force to was not given.
Other commitments included new sentencing guidelines for judges to cut the number of lower jail tariffs for serious offences.
The introduction of electronic tagging would also be a priority, Mr O'Keeffe said, claiming that the Government had failed to implement the laws that allowed for such a scheme.
Mr O'Keeffe said Fine Gael would also reform the witness protection programme to make it more effective, adding that the scheme had a key role to play in securing convictions against organised crime figures.