Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise as I had to speak in the Dáil. The comments from the witnesses have been important and quite moving. I was shocked by Ms Metcalfe's description of an appalling vista involving intimidation, drug use and so on. We need tougher sentences for the professional criminals. Although we cannot do it today, the only way to stop this is by picking a generation that must be prevented from being involved with this problem. We must intervene in early childhood and education, in schools or even preschool. There must be support from others, better housing and more involvement with housing associations, for example. There should be more involvement with communities. We need major investment in communities that suffer the greatest.

There was an article some years ago in the The Journal of Health Gainin which an academic indicated that district electoral divisions of Dublin could be pinpointed where people would die younger, spend more time in jail, have worse education and suffer higher unemployment. I am sure that has not changed much in the ten or 15 years since that was written. Part of the answer is to intervene at the earliest possible stage with the next generation. I am not saying we cannot change what is happening now, as we can but we need much more money and analytical thinking to change the next generation and ensure those people do not fall into the trap. Creating employment is a major element.