The dramatic rise in reported non-headline crimes last year was largely due to increased Garda detection of offences, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said tonight.
Mr McDowell published the Garda Annual Report for 2005 this evening. It showed an increase in headline crime of 2.7 per cent for the year compared with 2004. They also show that non-headling, or less serious, crime increased by 12.2 per cent.
The main increases in non-headline crimes were road traffic offences. Mr McDowell said the main reason for the 51 per cent increase in such offences was the "significant Garda attention being paid to heavy goods and similar vehicles".
Offences showing marked rises including driving while intoxicated (up 10 per cent), insurance offences (up 12 per cent), driving licence offences (up 16 per cent), tax registration offences (up 12 per cent), general road offences (up 32 per cent) and also in public order offences (up seven per cent).
The Minister said that although crime levels are only two per cent lower than in 2003, population growth must be taken into account. In 1995, with a population of almost 3.6 million people, there were 29 crimes per 1,000 of the population, he said. In 2005, when the population was over 4.1 million, there was the equivalent of 24.6 crimes per thousand.
"While it is the case that a number of the increases reflect increased enforcement activity on the part of An Garda Síochána, the overall picture indicates that there is no room for complacency and validates the Government's decision to continue to devote unprecedented resources to the fight against crime," Mr McDowell said.
He pointed out that Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy currently has the highest level of resources in Garda history at his disposal - €1.3 billion, which is an increase of €146 million on 2005.
He said a total of €93.5 million has been allocation towards Garda overtime for this year, over a quarter more than the previous 12 months.
"These targeted resources will greatly assist the Commissioner in his deployment of a visible policing service in a flexible, effective and response to criminal activity and to crime prevention," Mr McDowell said.
However, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) which has 9,500 members out of the total force of 12,000, accused the Government of failing to provide gardaí with proper resources, such as anti-stab vests, patrol cars and modern radio equipment.
The GRA annual conference opened in Galway today with stinging attacks on Mr McDowell and his plans for a Garda Reserve. The Minister has not been invited to address the meeting.