Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I move:

"That Dáil Éireann notes with grave concern,

the ongoing deterioration of law and order under successive Fianna Fáil led Governments, particularly:

the increase in incidents of anti-social behaviour;

the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse in communities;

the proliferation of knife crime, including the recent tragic death of two Polish men in Dublin; and

the consequent fear and anxiety that the Government's failure to tackle effectively such developments are causing within society; and

calls on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to:

complete, as a matter of urgency, a comprehensive review of the availability of knives and offensive weapons;

resource An Garda Síochána to mount a six month targeted operation to tackle the proliferation of knifes and similar offensive weapons throughout the country; and

bring forward measures and incentives to facilitate a significant increase in the number of community Gardaí."

I wish to share time with Deputies Catherine Byrne, Joe Carey and Michael D'Arcy.

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