Carol Nolan warns of rising knife crime and policing gaps
Carol Nolan spoke on escalating knife-related incidents, anti-social behaviour and policing shortfalls, calling for increased Garda resources and forensic vetting of those arriving through the asylum process. She warned communities and retailers report high levels of intimidation, vandalism and petty crime with limited Garda intervention and urged new measures to record crime by people in the country without proper vetting.
She said there can be no doubt that the State is witnessing a significant escalation of knife-related incidents, anti-social behaviour and a rapid deterioration of respect for the rule of law. Nolan described reports from communities and retailers of pre-teens and young adults engaging in unchecked intimidation, vandalism and petty crime.
Using a parliamentary question reply from her own county of Offaly, she noted Garda numbers rose by just five, from a low of 157 to 162, between the end of December 21 and 31 October 2024 - a period she said covered three years. Nolan said Gardai are stretched beyond reason despite government pledges to ramp up recruitment.
She insisted new measures are needed to record the level of crime committed by those who were in the country illegally or without proper vetting. Nolan said people have no confidence that the "tens of thousands of people arriving here" are being checked against criminal databases and argued that nobody should "get a pass or free rein" because they entered via the asylum process.
Nolan reiterated a call for robust and forensic levels of scrutiny and comprehensive data collection on crimes linked to immigration status to restore public confidence. She framed these measures as necessary to support communities, retailers and an overstretched Garda force.
Escalation of knife incidents and anti-social behaviour
She said there can be no doubt that the State is witnessing a significant escalation of knife-related incidents, anti-social behaviour and a rapid deterioration of respect for the rule of law. Nolan described reports from communities and retailers of pre-teens and young adults engaging in unchecked intimidation, vandalism and petty crime.
Local Garda numbers and recruitment concerns
Using a parliamentary question reply from her own county of Offaly, she noted Garda numbers rose by just five, from a low of 157 to 162, between the end of December 21 and 31 October 2024 - a period she said covered three years. Nolan said Gardai are stretched beyond reason despite government pledges to ramp up recruitment.
Vetting and asylum process scrutiny
She insisted new measures are needed to record the level of crime committed by those who were in the country illegally or without proper vetting. Nolan said people have no confidence that the "tens of thousands of people arriving here" are being checked against criminal databases and argued that nobody should "get a pass or free rein" because they entered via the asylum process.
Calls for robust data collection and forensic scrutiny
Nolan reiterated a call for robust and forensic levels of scrutiny and comprehensive data collection on crimes linked to immigration status to restore public confidence. She framed these measures as necessary to support communities, retailers and an overstretched Garda force.
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Transcript
Minister, I welcome the opportunity to speak on what has become an issue of major public and community concern. There can be no doubt that we are witnessing a significant escalation of knife related incidents, anti-social behaviour and in many cases rapid deterioration of the respect for the rule of law. If you talk to communities or retailers away from the glare of public spotlight, they will tell you that pre-teens and young adults are engaging in dramatically high levels of unchecked intimidation, vandalism and petty crime, often with little Garda intervention due to age protections. In my own County of Offaly, a recent PQ reply I received indicated that the number of Garda members assigned to Offaly from the end of December 21 up to 31 October 2024 had risen by just five, from a low of 157 to 162. That of course is over the course of three years. It is just not acceptable. Garda are stretched beyond reason, despite all of the pledges from government about ramping up recruitment. We can also not shy away from the fact that we must put in place entirely new measures to record data regarding the level of crime being committed by those who were in the country illegally or without proper vetting. This is absolutely necessary. People simply have no confidence that the tens of thousands of people arriving here are being checked against criminal databases. Nobody, and absolutely nobody, should get a pass or free rein just because they have entered the country through the asylum process. I am calling again for robust and forensic levels of scrutiny to be applied to this very issue. Thank you.