18 January 2016
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Fine Gael TD for Cork South Central, Jerry Buttimer, has said that the new Burglary Act will help keep repeat burglars off the streets of Cork and improve the safety of our community.
Jerry Buttimer TD
“Yesterday the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald, announced that the Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Act 2015 has come into operation. This is an important new act and means that from today bail can be denied to repeat offenders.
“The problem of repeat burglaries is significant; statistics provided by the Garda Síochána show that 75% of burglaries are committed by 25% of burglars. This important Act allows for bail to be denied, and consecutive sentences to be given, to repeat burglars. It’s my hope that the act will reduce crime rates in Cork and will be a key weapon in the battle against crime.
“Thankfully the latest figures show a reduction in the number of burglaries occurring in Cork. At the December meeting of the Cork City Joint Policing Committee the Gardai confirmed a fall of 4 percentage points when comparing September-November 2014 to the same period in 2015. While this is welcome it is important that we use every available tool to take repeat offenders off our streets. These new laws will improve the safety of our communities.
“This new Act is part of a number of measures to tackle crime. Earlier last year we put in place stricter bail laws for repeat offenders. We have reopened Templemore after it was closed by Fianna Fáil and once again began recruiting new Gardai. We have allocated €46 million for Garda new vehicles, and in 2015 the Cork City Division received 24 new vehicles. This is all part of an unprecedented allocation of €875 million in capital funding for the Justice sector.
“The economic recovery, brought about by the policies of this Government and the hard work of the Irish people, means we can now invest more in key public services, Fine Gael has a long term plan to keep the recovery going. Our plan will deliver more and better new jobs and will allow us to continue targeted investment in areas like crime prevention.”
