Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

I join other speakers in congratulating the Minister on his appointment. I have the utmost confidence that he will perform his duties honourably and effectively. I welcome the many positive aspects of the Minister's statement, particularly with regard to Garda numbers. While all of us want serious crime tackled effectively, anti-social activity is probably the issue of most concern to ordinary citizens. This problem needs greater Garda attention. I call specifically for an increase in the number of gardaí patrolling on mountain bikes as they are in a better position to cross open public spaces and so forth.

In my constituency, particularly in Swords, five or six pubs close at the same time. It is imperative that different establishments have different closing times because excessive alcohol consumption results in problems when 400 or 500 people leave pubs at the same time and seek taxis home.

I welcome the establishment of joint policing committees. Local authorities have an important role to play in this respect given that they own many public parks and open spaces where a great deal of anti-social behaviour takes place.

We should prioritise community service over fines. Requiring young people to go out among their own peers to clean up litter, sweep streets or engage in other community activities, acts as a much greater deterrent than imposing a fine. Parents must also take greater responsibility for their children and should be financially penalised if their children break the law. They must know where their children are in the early hours of the morning.

We need more gardaí on the beat right across Dublin North, the constituency with the fastest growing population in the country, if not in Europe. Despite this, my constituency has not benefited from an increase in Garda numbers. Part-time Garda stations should be manned to a much greater extent at weekends. While it is important to open such stations for a couple of hours on week days, the problems of excessive drinking and anti-social activity generally occur at weekends.

It is imperative that Garda divisions reflect the boundaries of county councils. The northern end of my constituency forms part of the Meath-Louth Garda division. This approach is not effective for the purposes of crime statistics. Joint policing committees, which I welcome, will be much more effective if Garda divisions are aligned with the boundaries of local authorities, for example, Fingal County Council.

In general, drug use is associated with people in our inner cities etc., but there is a growing culture of drug usage in the middle class. One hears stories of drugs being freely available at house parties and so on. It will have a detrimental effect on future generations. What effect will it have on the minds of young people if they see their parents taking drugs? While some of us are right to say drug barons are the bane of society, it is the middle class that is making multimillionaires out of them. The situation needs attention and I recommend that the Minister and his colleagues get to grips with it.

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