Ms Deirdre Devitt:

We thank the Chairman and members of this committee for the opportunity to raise the issues of aggressive begging in Dublin city centre and the need for greater policing resources for Dublin. Our group consists of the CEOs of six business associations which are as follows: Richard Guiney, DublinTown; David Brennan, Dublin City Business Association; Tim Fenn, Irish Hotels Federation; Adrian Cummins, the Restaurants Association of Ireland; Martin Harte, Temple Bar Company and myself, a representative of the Licensed Vintners Association.

From the outset we wish to make clear that the business sectors we collectively represent recognise the complexity of the societal issues involved in the interrelated areas of aggressive begging, homelessness and alcohol and drug addiction, that we fully support Government investment via the HSE, the Departments of Social Protection and the Environment, Community and Local Government and Dublin City Council in treatment services and social housing programmes, and that people in these very difficult circumstances must be treated with compassion and dignity. There is a clear responsibility on the State to assist its citizens in need and we strongly support that. The importance of co-ordinated action in that regard has been underlined by the tragic death this week of Jonathan Corrie on our city streets. This was a terrible tragedy and as a group we extend our sympathy to Mr. Corrie's family and friends. We understand a forum on homelessness is taking place tomorrow and we hope the forum will produce a plan of action to tackle homelessness in the city. This is a very sensitive issue but it is important to state that it is a separate issue to that which is the agenda of today's meeting.
For the purposes of today’s meeting we want to focus our comments on the issue of aggressive begging and the serious implications that has on citizens living and doing business in the city as well as on people visiting the city. We are here today to provide the committee with a first-hand perspective from city centre businesses that encounter this issue on a daily basis. Aggressive begging has intensified over the past 12 months and is now at an unacceptable level. We believe the general public deserves the right to frequent our city centre without harassment or intimidation and our research indicates they are concerned about aggressive begging in this regard. Whether they are involved in the day or night-time economy, across retail, hospitality or offices, the business community in Dublin is united in its view that the current level of repeated, aggressive begging is negatively impacting on Dublin’s citizens and visitors with serious knock-on implications for local businesses. We will now set out a framework and context to consider this issue.
As the capital city, and by sheer weight of numbers, Dublin is the most important socio-economic urban area in the country. Some context can be gleaned from following statistics. Dublin city and county have a population of 1.27 million people. Economic activity in the Dublin region accounts for 47% of national GDP. A total of 840,000 people work in the Dublin region, representing over 40% of total employment in the State. Dublin attracted 3.9 million overseas visitors last year, generating €1.4 billion in revenue.
Our group commissioned the research agency, Behaviour & Attitudes, to carry out a survey of Dubliners’ views on the aggressive begging issue in Dublin city centre. The survey’s objective was to determine the level of concern people feel about aggressive begging in town and to measure its impact on visit likelihood and frequency. Some 524 adults over the age of 18 were surveyed online in the last week of October 2014. The key findings were as follows. Nine out of ten, 98%, would categorise aggressive begging as having a substantially negative impact on the attractiveness of the city. A total of 58% of people feel intimated by people who look for money and beg on the street. Some 60% feel that aggressive begging has some effect on them visiting town in general. Two in five people agree that it affects their likelihood of shopping during the day in town, and over half claim that it affects their likelihood of socialising in town at night. A total of 87% feel there could be greater levels of visible policing in town and the vast majority would like an increased Garda presence. Up to 70% feel the Garda should be tasked with preventing aggressive begging. More than two thirds agree that they do not see enough gardaí patrolling the streets of Dublin city centre.
We recognise the critical role played by the Garda in making Dublin an attractive place in which to live, work and visit and we want to acknowledge its outstanding performance in that regard. All the business organisations represented today have very positive relationships with the Garda and recognise its substantial contribution to the ongoing development of Dublin. We also recognise the pressure on public finances and the pressure for severe reduction in Government expenditure in recent years. However, we believe there is now an overwhelming case for substantial additional resources to be made available to the Garda for policing in Dublin, and in Dublin city centre in particular.
According to the annual report of An Garda Síochána, the total number of gardaí has fallen from 14,835 in 2009 to 13,093 in 2013, a drop of 1,742 gardaí, or 12%, in three years. Dublin city centre is the public face of the Dublin region and this area has suffered significantly from a reduction in Garda numbers. In the south inner city alone, one Garda division has seen its numbers drop by over 160 gardaí. In addition to this reduction in numbers, the overtime budget for the same division station has been cut by 61% since 2008. This means that not only are numbers down but existing numbers cannot be maximised because there simply is not enough overtime budget available. This issue is further compounded by the introduction of the new Garda roster which in effect means that Garda resources will be targeted at times of peak demand, namely, Friday and Saturday nights. However, it also means that there are fewer gardaí available at other times. This system may in theory be effective in other parts of the State, but a major urban centre like Dublin city operates on a 24-hour basis and demand for on-the-ground policing is required on a daily basis, not just at the weekend.
The attractiveness of Dublin as a city in which to live, do business, or visit would be directly boosted by virtue of higher profile policing presence across both the day and night-time economies. While the Garda performs exceptionally well with limited resources, there is no doubt the force would benefit from extra resources in Dublin. We are calling for a three-year strategy, with the required resources, to boost Garda numbers in Dublin back to 2009 levels. Consideration must be given to deploying the majority of new Garda recruits in Dublin and, as an immediate step, to boosting the overtime budget to facilitate additional on-street policing. In addition, we believe that a specific, resourced strategy to deal with the aggressive begging issue in the city centre must be developed. Specific targets should be in place, and increased visibility of Garda patrols across the night-time economy from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. There is no doubt that both the public and the business community would like to see a greater Garda presence on our city centre streets. As the population of Dublin grows and the economic recovery takes hold, there is a pressing need for additional Garda resources to be devoted to Dublin city.
The Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act of 2011 was introduced after the High Court found that section 3 of the Vagrancy (Ireland) Act 1847 was unconstitutional due to its vagueness and lack of certainty. It was also held to represent a disproportionate interference with the Constitution’s provisions on freedom of expression and freedom to communicate. The Constitution guarantees that one has a right to liberty and freedom, except in accordance with the law. This means that, in general, one is entitled to one's own personal freedom but legislation may provide for one's arrest and detention in certain circumstances like aggressive begging.
While the Vagrancy (Ireland) Act was found to be unconstitutional, the judgment did note that it is undoubtedly so that the right to communicate and the right to freedom of expression can be limited in the interests of common good. Nothing in this judgment should be construed as preventing the Oireachtas from making laws prohibiting aggressive and intimidating begging. The 2011 Act provided new statutory measures to deal with begging. It is fair to say that this 2011 Act never functioned properly in terms of dealing with the begging issue. The High Court found that the Garda was obliged to establish a prima faciecase that the begging took place without legal authorisation. While the law does provide that a person guilty of the offence of aggressive, intimidating or aggressive begging could be fined or jailed, the Minister of Justice and Equality has observed that convicting people engaged in begging is not a readily workable solution to the problem.
We note the Garda has the power to direct people away from certain places where they are causing a nuisance but that requires a significant, ongoing Garda presence on our streets to provide an effective solution. As I previously stated, the issue of aggressive begging has greatly intensified in Dublin over the past 12 months and is now at an unacceptable level. We are calling for a review of begging legislation in light of recent experience, to draw on the views of business sectors, voluntary bodies and the public and to redraft legislation to deal with this issue more effectively.
There are clear concerns among the public and business community about the level and nature of aggressive begging in Dublin. The solution to this complex issue involves high levels of State support services, an effective legislative framework and increased resources for the Garda. We trust the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality recognises our concerns and will support our calls for greater legal clarity and increased Garda resources for our capital city. I thank members for their attention.