Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn was right about that much. The Taoiseach will probably be aware that the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, launched a report yesterday on the childhood development initiative. The report deals in great detail with the impact on children as young as ten of anti-social behaviour.

If the Taoiseach has not seen the report, I recommend it to him, because when I raised the question of anti-social behaviour with him last week, I was completely bemused by his reply, as were people outside the House. If the Taoiseach had received as big a response to the issue as I have, he would know the extent of the breakdown of the fabric of society in many communities. Instead, he wandered, making a number of different claims. He said we have 14,000 gardaí but, according to a reply to a parliamentary question by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, we have 12,200. The Taoiseach then detailed at great length his struggle to implement the Criminal Justice Act but that was introduced by a Fine Gael-Labour Government.

He then talked about community policing and instanced his struggle in this regard, stating:

I recall what the Opposition said when two years ago a community garda in this city stood up to deal with the unfair elements. I answered in this House for that garda who tried to clear out a few hooligans and vandals from the May Day celebrations. I was trying to defend the poor man. The Labour Party talks about community gardaí but gives no support to community policing.

The Taoiseach made a most unfortunate choice. That particular garda and the events of May Day are something that ought not to be celebrated or defended in this House. There is no single, simple solution to this phenomenon that threatens the fabric of society in many communities and neighbourhoods but community policing is one of the solutions. The resources devoted to community policing are entirely inadequate and inconsistent.

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