Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he could not explain the delay in operating the Garda's new digital telephone system.
"I am unable to explain the reason that, when the Government granted approval for the system in 2002, a series of people within the Garda, and various agencies and departments, have spent four years looking into it and looking out of it. I cannot explain it."
Bernard Allen (FG, Cork North Central) remarked that the Taoiseach was supposed to be in charge.
Mr Ahern replied: "I do not go into the detail of the technology or how the system is operated. I provide the resources." He said although the system was operational four years after the Government had approved it, it should not have taken so long.
"We provided the resources and, following a tendering process, the system is now in place and available to the Garda, which is as good as any system in use anywhere in the world."
Mr Ahern said there were 14,000 gardaí. "The budget has been increased from €600 million to €1.3 billion, and we provided for almost three million hours of Garda overtime."
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny claimed the Government had failed in 10 categories in dealing with crime in its nine years in power.
Mr Ahern said that the population had increased from 3.5 million people to 4.1 million. "Every examination of the figures has shown that crime per thousand of the population is down."
Criticising the Government's performance, Mr Kenny said Minister for Justice Michael McDowell had "self-combusted" over murders, assaults, rapes or theft, which had all increased under his jurisdiction.
"This reminds me of what Churchill said about the US secretary of state John Foster Dulles: 'I know of no other bull who brings his own china shop with him'."
