Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

The Leas Cheann-Comhairle is being very hard. According to a survey published last week in The Irish Times the main concern of women here is fear of crime. Most women can identify and empathise with their feeling that they are not protected or secure. For some, however, that is not just a feeling but the reality of their everyday lives in many disadvantaged estates in cities and towns. People are subjected to vandalism, anti-social behaviour, intimidation, violence and, increasingly, murder is becoming almost commonplace. A parallel society is emerging in these estates. When that happens society begins to break down and alarm bells must ring.

Although we have often talked about crime and the need for prevention and enforcement we must examine what we are doing about this because it is not working. We need to be serious about a new approach, maybe by doing things we have shied away from in the past. We must for instance, stop pussyfooting around the concept of ID cards. Underage drinking is rampant and causes misery everywhere. Every evening on my way home I see groups of youngsters drinking. They are aged between 12 and 14 years and have no difficulty getting access to drink. They are destroying their own brains and causing misery for their neighbours as they make their drunken way home, destroying public and private property. They have no regard for anything and the police can do very little about them. They should probably be much more aggressive but we must help them by introducing a system of ID cards which has many other benefits.

We should be beating down the door of the European Commission to get help in patrolling our waters. Drugs come in through Ireland which is an easy back door into Europe. It is in everybody's interests that we co-operate in patrolling our waters. It is laughable to think that our naval services and coastguard are equipped with the money, the resources, or the incentives available to the international drug lords.

We have our own home-grown criminals. They are not born criminals. Children do not come into this world as criminals but without the right intervention some are immediately established on a path to Mountjoy or some other prison. Parents have a role in nurturing their children, ensuring they behave themselves and grow into responsible citizens, and Government's role is to help parents do that. There are, however, circumstances in which parents, regardless of help, cannot, will not, or do not want to nurture their children. Many of them are teenage drug addicts or criminals themselves. They will not get up on a Saturday morning to bring their children to the GAA or some other club. We must introduce pre-schools where every child gets an equal chance. There are primary schools around the country without sports teachers, sports halls, or swimming pools. There should be universal access to sports for every child in the country. The sports projects for those who are disadvantaged are great and the voluntary clubs do good work but the children who attend them are self-selecting, they come from motivated families whose parents want their children to succeed. Every child needs such a chance and unless the State takes over where parents have failed, we will face the breakdown of society. Alarm bells should be ringing for all Members in respect of crime.

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