2006: the year of the gangster, says FG

FINE Gael yesterday portrayed 2006 as the “year of the gangster” following the publication of the latest crime figures.

In marked contrast to the Tánaiste Michael McDowell, Fine Gael’s justice spokesman Jim O’Keeffe honed in on murder, gun crime, and rape.

He said that since 2003 the murder rate had risen by 43% and that gun crime was up almost 40%. The incidence of reported rape cases had risen by a quarter in the same period, he added.