Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

Hallowe'en, a traditional time for religious commemoration, being the eve of the feast of All Saints, has become an occasion for serious anti-social behaviour. In my constituency of Dublin Central a factory was burnt in the docklands and a restaurant in Phibsboro in suspicious circumstances which suggest arson. A fire brigade was stoned while dealing with a bonfire in Sheriff Street and a fireman was injured in the eye. Some 12 men were arrested and two gardaí had their noses broken on Dorset Street. Rioting occurred in O'Devaney Gardens. Some gardaí were effectively imprisoned for some time and a number of unoccupied flats were set on fire. The Dublin Fire Service was called out to 800 incidents in the city and the ambulance service received 500 calls.

The clean up bill alone is estimated to cost more than €1 million to the taxpayer. Property damage would run into further millions. The bonfires in the green areas of estates have caused an ugly scar which, as the Acting Chairman will know, remains there throughout the year until next Hallowe'en. All this happened despite a co-ordinated attempt by the Garda and the local authority to seize tyres and pallets from youths who were hoarding them. Approximately 100 tonnes were seized in Dublin city and in one rear garden alone in Sheriff Street approximately 250 tyres, some large tractor tyres, were seized by the city council in the run-up to Hallowe'en.

It seems that the current policy is not working. I tabled a question two weeks prior to Hallowe'en asking the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform what he proposed to do this year. Operation Tombola was put in action again, with all the levels of consultation, liaison, seizures and so on, but clearly it is not effective. We need to put together a more comprehensive, co-ordinated plan to deal with the Hallowe'en mayhem that now is occurring not only in Dublin but throughout the country. There is almost a mindset among the youth of the country that Hallowe'en is an opportunity for violence and anti-social behaviour, that anything goes and that the authorities can be attacked at will.

Solutions must be found concerning the matter of fireworks. Fireworks are legal in Northern Ireland, while they are illegal in the Republic. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform — as I have said to successive Ministers over the years — must agree a set of proposals with his counterpart in Northern Ireland. He should try to synchronise the legislation between the two parts of the island. It is not rocket science. If fireworks can be sold legally in one part of the island and not in the other part, they will be sold, smuggled or brought across the Border. It is a simple matter of trying to deal with that by way of some cross-Border co-operation.

It is time to prosecute those business people who do not recycle pallets and tyres as they are obliged to do by law. As a result, they are "stolen" by youths for bonfires so that they do not have to pay the cost of recycling. The cost of recycling a standard car tyre is €4 or €5 and they are supposed to be dealt with properly. However, they are made available by the garages and the various businesses that deal with them. That also applies to pallets, wood and so on. Hallowe'en is a clean up time for businesses which do not want to pay the cost of recycling. Rather than seizing those goods that have been hoarded by youths, the way to stop such practice is to ensure the emphasis is put on prosecuting those who are making such goods available to these young people in the first instance.

It is unacceptable that the emergency services personnel become targets for assault while providing emergency services to the community. Such behaviour must be severely sanctioned. In this respect, it is very important that parents play their proper role in ensuring that their children are not involved in late night activities and anti-social behaviour at Hallowe'en.

In terms of the sale of the alcohol to minors, there is no doubt that there is no other time in the year younger children are to be found drinking alcohol throughout the city. Children as young as 12, 13 and 14 years of age have cans of alcohol. Clearly, such alcohol is being made available. On Hallowe'en eve I saw youngsters who were clearly under age carrying packs and bags of alcohol from a particular supermarket. This problem requires good Garda policing to ensure it is addressed. What is needed is a mechanism to identify the venues from which such alcohol is sold when it is to be found in the hands of minors. We need a labelling mechanism to do that.

While the local authority and the Garda are to complimented on what they have done in terms of activities were for the pre-teenagers, there was nothing available for the post-teenagers or for the teenager themselves. That area must be looked at. We need a comprehensive programme to deal with this matter for the coming year.

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