The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, is in denial where rising crime levels against the person, including offences of murder and manslaughter, are concerned.
Following belated publication of crime statistics for the year 2000 by the Garda Commissioner, Mr Patrick Byrne, the Minister claimed there was an overall reduction of almost ten per cent in serious crime for the year, on the basis of a new category of "headline offences". In doing so, he sought to ignore unpalatable crime figures involving assault and wounding and to compare dissimilar categories. Mr O'Donoghue's response was predictable, given the upcoming general election and the strength of the law-and-order issue as a possible vote-winner.
Mr O'Donoghue has been an energetic Minister with a good legislative record. Anti-drug and organised crime campaigns favoured by him have put many criminals behind bars while sequestering their loot. The number of prison places has been significantly increased and the strength of the Garda has risen by 1,000.
But all is not well within the Garda Síochána in terms of structures and accountability. And there is evidence of growing levels of casual street violence involving young people - particularly in Dublin.
The statistics underlying the present political furore are more than a year out of date. The Minister admitted in an RTE interview, however, that approximate crime figures are also available for the year 2001. But he had no intention of releasing them because they reflected a further deterioration in the situation.
This is not good enough. Mr O'Donoghue made his name on the opposition benches through unrelenting criticism of his predecessor and a promise of "zero tolerance" to crime. Now that violent crimes against the person, including manslaughter and murder, are on the increase, the Minister cannot simply ignore official statistics.
It has been estimated that three-quarters of all crimes committed in this State are not reported to the Garda and do not appear in official statistics. The National Crime Commission has been critical of the way in which the Garda compiles its statistics and has urged the establishment of an independent expert group on crime statistics. The present situation is a mess. Attempts by the Minister to ignore politically sensitive crimes simply adds to it.