There has been a drop in overall crime for the third quarter of this year. However, gun crime is on the rise, according to provisional figures released by the Minister for Justice today.
There was an increase of 12 per cent for cases of possession of firearms and 5 per cent more cases in the use of firearms over last year.
Mr McDowell said new firearms offences and tougher jail terms are being introduced to combat rising gun crime. These will include a new offence of possession of a sawn-off shotgun that will incur a mandatory minimum sentence. Owners of firearms will also be legally obliged to secure them in burglar-proof safes in their homes.
"In support of the Gardai where mandatory sentencing of those convicted of firearms offences will provide a substantial deterrent for this type of behaviour I will seek to bring about such changes to our legislation as may be necessary to implement mandatory, deterrent sentences," the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, said at the launch of the figures today.
There was also an increase in the number of female rape cases, up 48 per cent on last year. However, there was a 24 per cent decrease in the number of sexual assault cases.
Other figures showed a reduction of 9 per cent in the number of murders and a reduction of 2 per cent in the numbers of assaults causing harm. The number of burglaries reported for the quarter also decreased by 3 per cent.
The minister attributed a 7 per cent drop in assaults to his hard-line stance on late-night drinking, public disorder and drunkenness on the streets. "If your teeth are knocked out or you're kicked about the head and put into hospital, no trend in these figures is satisfactory," he said. "The public at large are now seeing the benefits of our campaign against public disorder and drunkenness in the streets."
Fine Gael Justice spokesman, Mr Jim O'Keeffe criticised the government saying the country is heading for more than 100,000 crimes being committed in Ireland this year.
"We are now heading for more than 100, 000 headline crimes being committed in Ireland in 2004. When the Fine Gael led Rainbow coalition left office in 1997, crime rates were 85,000.
"The discharge of firearms is also continuing to increase, as is the illegal possession of firearms. The Minister's standard answer to the issues arising from statistics like this is to whip out his legislative quill and write another law. However, with the Garda strength increasing by an average of only 81 Gardai per year, it will take more than legislation to address this problem," Mr O'Keeffe added.
Labour Party Justice spokesman Mr Joe Costello welcomed today's figures but warned the rise of rape cases will be of concern to Irish women. "With gun crime increasing, the number of rapes on the rise, and no significant drop in the number of burglaries, we have no reason to rest any easier despite the slight drop in crime," he said.
Mr McDowell said he found the rise in the number of rapes "disturbing" but pointed out that more victims were coming forward to report such crimes to gardaí. He said: "Victims have the confidence to come forward now and these offences are being investigated and detected more."
Additional reporting: PA
