Labour in no position to lecture FF on crime - Ardagh

Labour is in no position to lecture Fianna Fáil on crime, given their own record in this area according to Dublin South Central TD Sean Ardagh.

"Fianna Fáil in Government is committed to tackling crime in all its forms. It takes the statistics released by the CSO today very seriously. I fail to understand, however, the hypocritical stance taken by the Labour Party regarding these figures. How can Pat Rabbitte justify lecturing Fianna Fáil on crime, when his own party failed to support anti-gangland measures introduced by the Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern last year?"

Deputy Ardagh continued: "Despite calling on the Government to 'smash' criminal gangs, the Labour party refused to vote for the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009. Pat Rabbittte told the Dail last November "It is the Government’s duty to put gangs out of business". Yet when it came to the crunch, Deputy Rabbitte refused to support the Bill."

Deputy Ardagh added: "Unlike the Labour Party, Fianna Fáil recognises that decisive actions rather than empty words, are what is required to tackle crime. Let there be no doubt that addressing the causes and consequences of criminal behaviour remains a top priority for the Government.

"This is reflected in the fact that the Gardai remain well resourced, with a budget of almost €1.5 billion in 2010, despite the downturn. This compares to a budget of approx €610 million in 1997."

"It is also interesting to note, in light of Deputy Rabbitte’s criticisms, that the number of Gardaí actually fell when Labour were last in Government.

"Moreover, the Rainbow Coalition failed to build a single prison cell. Since 1997, in excess of 1,670 new prison spaces have come on stream in the prison system."