Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this Bill. This is important legislation and I support its introduction. The rise in the involvement of young people in crime is concerning. Some 400 drug offences were committed by children and adolescents aged ten to 17 in 2016 and that number rose to approximately 1,000 in 2020. It is clear that legislation is needed to address this issue but we cannot rely on legislation alone. I will also speak to that fact.

Young people in this country should not face recruitment into crime and we should be doing everything in our power to address this, not just at an urban level but at a national level. The national prevalence study in 2017 showed that the same issues were seen by Garda juvenile liaison officers nationally and were not confined to urban areas. It is for that reason I support this Bill's intention to make it an offence for an adult to compel, coerce, direct or deceive a child for the purpose of causing that child to commit a crime and the intention to make it an offence to induce or invite a child to commit a crime.

A number of reports over the past two decades have analysed the issue of children in Ireland being recruited to commit a crime and they all underline the need for legislative intervention in this area. This legislation is welcome and timely, given the significant rise in the numbers of young people involved in crime. An important aspect of the legislation is that it is not a requirement for a child to intend to commit a crime or for a child to be prosecuted for an offence for an adult to be charged for trying to engage a child in criminality. It is important that we intervene as early as possible and not wait until a child has actually committed a crime before an adult is prosecuted for his or her involvement.

Another important aspect of this Bill is that lower levels of criminality are involved. Facilitating earlier intervention by capturing lower levels of criminality that children may be recruited to engage in before progressing to more serious offending is extremely important. However, we should also be looking at ensuring even earlier intervention than this. It has been reported time and time again that adults within a criminal network often recruit and groom certain vulnerable local children to commit crimes. The University of Limerick's Greentown report shows that children are often selected because of their personal vulnerability, a family history of criminal association through elder siblings, poor supervision, parental incapacity compounded by alcohol and drugs misuse, the absence of a father figure or the presence of an ineffective father figure, or a combination of all these factors. It is important that we are getting to vulnerable young people before they are targeted. The Greentown report also recommended the design of a programme to include interventions with children and their families to help them to withstand the influence of criminal networks.

We are quick to jump to legislation and persecution as the answer without considering other, and often more effective, approaches. Why? It is less costly and a quick fix to introduce legislation. It does not involve proper engagement with communities or the issues they are facing. God forbid we would go to the root of the problem and address the fact that it is often severe income inequality and poverty that causes these issues in the first place. We need to start addressing the reasons young people might want to engage in crime. The juvenile justice, crime and early intervention study of 2011 detailed the substantial social reasons for the involvement of children in criminal activity. It highlighted the respect and validation that young people derive from their participation in gangs and criminal activity. The reality is that in most cases, the State has failed these young people and their communities in search of another structure that might support them and give them a sense of validation and dignity in their lives. Many young people turn to criminal gangs. The role of social stratification in the engagement of young people in crime cannot be underestimated.

It is all well and good for legislation to be debated in the Chamber but we need to base it on reality and consider its actual application. The reality is, as IHREC has pointed out, children involved in the criminal networks are often groomed by older family members, including parents. Are we to force children to give evidence against their own family members, are we considering what position we are putting the child in in this case, and should their family members, particularly parents, face prosecution, have we considered the effect that this may have on the child as well?

In addition, would an unintended consequence of the legislation be more pressure on young people to recruit their peers into crime? As we know, peer pressure is very influential and can often be even more influential than pressure from adults. I support the Bill, but the age should be raised to at least 21 because 18 is far too young and, as I said, legislation is not enough. We need to ensure that we are addressing the root cause of crime and we are serious about addressing this issue. The root cause of crime is not crime itself but the circumstances that force young people to consider crime as a way of advancement. Ultimately, unless we address those issues, we will never see a reduction in lives being destroyed by involvement in crime or the causes of the crime as well.

I am also concerned about the likelihood or otherwise of this legislation being implemented. Often the passing of legislation in the House gives the impression that the problem is solved, which is far from the fact. Will this legislation be implemented and will it be implemented in a timely manner as well? The list of Bills that are only part-implemented and part-enacted across all Departments is shocking. It undermines the legislative process, and the idea that the problem is solved once the legislation is passed in the House is not actually the case. That is vitally important as well.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for her indulgence.

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