'We shouldn't play up the fear of crime,' says Taoiseach as he claims Govt has brought in 'more gardaí every year'
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said people shouldn’t exaggerate the fear of crime.
Instead, they should remember murders are down since the crash and there are more Garda graduates hitting the streets since 2008.
And he reiterated his view that Ireland “is a country that is safe”, and “has a relatively low crime rate and murder rate”.
He was responding to questions put to him by PJ Coogan on Cork’s 96FM Opinion Line.
The presenter referenced a spate of high-profile murders and the growing fear about the growing rise of crime across the county.
The stabbing to death of Cameron Blair on Bandon Road, Cork, came a few hours before a string of brutal attacks, culminating in the attack of a man in his Mayfield house before he was set on fire.
“It is very worrying and I can understand why people are afraid,” he said.
“Gardaí need evidence and we would really encourage everyone to co-operate and help the gardaí.
“On the really sad killing of Cameron Blair, I think the whole country is really numbed about that and I would like to extend my condolences to his family.
I think it's every parent's worst nightmare for a night to end the way that did. They certainly have my condolences.
Of the level of crime-related incidents recently, he said: “With the spate of violence that happens I can totally understand why people are worried, not just in Cork but in other parts of the country.”
He was asked about his comments about Ireland being safe and was told that a lot of people in Cork would disagree with him.
“I appreciate that people have a different perspective,” he replied.
“I suppose what I was pointing out there was fact and it is a fact - not a statistic - an actual fact that if you go back to 2007, 13 years ago, you had 70 or 80 murders-a-year in Ireland.
“Actually last year it was closer to half that.
“So, murders have gone substantially down in Ireland.
“I know it doesn't feel like that when you hear about these awful murders.
“I wouldn’t like to downplay the situation but at the same time we shouldn't up play the fear of crime because that in itself can affect people's lives.”
He was then asked about garda resources, and if it would take a narco terrorist-style murder like that of Keane Mulready-Woods in Drogheda before the county gets more resources.
“Well first of all, that isn't going to be the case and is not the case,” the Taoiseach replied.
“The Garda strength in Cork at the moment is 1,335 and that is up about 136 gardaí since Templemore was closed.
“Do you remember the previous Fianna Fáil government closed Templemore, stopped recruitment?
We are the government that started recruitment all over again and as a result of that, we have more gardaí every year.
“Of course it is vital Cork gets its fair share of those. But it’s the Garda Commissioner that decides on resources, no matter what any politician may tell you or promise you.
“It’s not politicians who decide where gardaí are put.
“But we can only have more gardaí in Cork, if we have more gardaí.”
He admitted that the 700 new gardaí the government was committed to seeing graduate was a ‘gross’ figure not a ‘net’ figure.
He said this when pressed to address the discrepancy between the number of gardaí graduating and those retiring.
