Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan has told the Dáil that the budget for An Garda Síochána in 2007 was €1.4bn, a record high.
He was responding to a question from Fine Gael TD Charlie Flanagan who said not enough was being done to tackle crime.
Mr Flanagan said the key to resolving the issue in the short term was to sufficiently resource gardaí.
He said in spite of what the minister said about increased resources, a supplementary estimate of €25m was needed.
Mr Lenihan responded that the increase in garda expenditure this year is at 11.6%, an increase he described as very substantial.
He went on to say that as a result of Operation Anvil since 2005, 86,941 checkpoints in Dublin were set up leading to over 12,000 arrests, of which 111 were murder-related.
He said gardaí were engaged in a relentless war against criminals and he did not accept they were losing that war.
Gaming report ready for publication
Mr Lenihan also told the Dáil he is committed to publishing the report of the casino committee entitled ‘Regulating Gaming in Ireland’.
He said the report, which is lengthy, was now ready for publication.
The minister said neither he nor the Government had adopted any views on the report.
Mr Lenihan said the best way to deal with the whole issue is to publish it and refer to an all-party committee to deal with it.
Subject to agreement he said such a committee could be established without delay.
Mr Lenihan stressed the report specifically recommended that we do not introduce fixed odds betting terminals (slot machines).
