Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Let us forget about that issue. It is a total red herring, as Deputy Healy well knows.

Some of the comment on anti-social behaviour orders is misdirected as there is no agreement as to what constitutes anti-social behaviour. "Prime Time" confused the issue by showing footage of people using shotguns in housing estates. That is not anti-social behaviour; it is simple criminal behaviour which has no connection with anti-social behaviour.

The issue has been politicised and an inflated sense of vulnerability in the home has been created. We are all responsible for this if we claim in the House that people are afraid in their homes, that the streets are not safe or that people are dodging from doorway to doorway on O'Connell Street to avoid the bullets. This is the kind of language that feeds an irrational social panic that is not matched by reality. As the Minister rightly stated in his contribution, the incidence of crime has reduced in the past five years. Unfortunately, this reduction is not matched by a reduction in the level of exaggeration heard in the Chamber.

I have reservations about ASBOs for children, although I have not considered the detail of yesterday's contribution from the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan. We need to bring in the Children's Act. As for the issues to which Deputy Healy refers, local authorities experience results where they are proactive with estate management, as my local authority is in Loughlinstown and Shanganagh. Great results have been experienced where estate management has been in a proper partnership with local authorities and communities. Such results will be improved further under the Garda Síochána Act sections dealing with local policing committees.

While we have the Garda Síochána Act, we need to consider the issue of rural policing for many reasons. I am not from a rural constituency but, given the anecdotal evidence, I know rural Garda stations are virtually a law unto themselves, especially the one-man shows, where many gardaí have other jobs. This area needs to be tackled.

I continue to have serious reservations about the admissibility of witness statements, a point I made on Second Stage. I support the motion.

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