Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1:

To delete paragraphs 4 to 15 and substitute the following:

"—believes that Government failures have resulted in serious drug, gun and knife crime becoming a growing concern in all parts of the state;

believes central Government, an Garda Síochána, local authorities and all relevant statutory bodies must prioritise serious drug, gun and knife crime, anti-social or anti-community behaviour and domestic and sexual violence;

is of the view that an Garda Síochána must work in full partnership with communities if crime is to be tackled effectively and community safety enhanced;

calls on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to complete, in consultation with communities and as a matter of urgency, a comprehensive review of the availability of knives and offensive weapons;

demands the Government resource An Garda Síochána to mount a six month targeted operation to tackle the proliferation of knifes and similar offensive weapons in co-operation with the PSNI;

demands the number of Gardaí employed full-time on community policing be increased and measures brought forward to address the difficulties involved in filling such positions with the right candidates and reversing the high turnover in this post by changing Garda perceptions of the post and its status through, for example, alterations to the current norms governing promotions and career development in an Garda Síochána;

mandates:

greater civilianisation of the force to free up fully-trained Gardaí;

a more visible presence of Gardaí in the community;

that the resources of local Garda drugs units be at least doubled; and

greater investment in prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and reducing the supply of illegal drugs."

The effect of the amendment to amendment No. 1 will be to undo what the Government is attempting through its head-in-the-sand approach and to reintroduce some of the proposals put forward by Fine Gael. It will also go beyond the latter in order to ensure that which we are debating, and that upon which we will vote, represents a proper response rather than an approach such as that to which I refer.

The Government and its spokespersons and backbenchers do not seem to be aware of the extent of violent crime in our society. If they were, they would not have had the audacity to table amendment No. 1, which is a disgrace. We are discussing this motion on the back of the public's revulsion at the reprehensible murder of two Polish men in my constituency. At the same time, however, the Government is praising itself for all the good things it has done. It is time the Government woke up to the extent of the problem.

Like Deputy Catherine Byrne, I can discuss matters with my constituents. I invite the Minister and his Cabinet colleagues to engage in such discussions with their constituents. This problem does not just relate to Drimnagh, Ballyfermot or wherever. If Ministers got out of their ministerial cars on occasion and spoke to people, they would be aware that their constituents are living in fear and that elderly individuals are no longer prepared to go to the shops on their own. They will also discover that the Garda does not respond quickly enough for most people. By the time gardaí arrive on the scene — one or two hours or perhaps more later — the perpetrators of crime have left. In many instances, the young people who are out of their heads on cocaine and who are hassling others at chip shops or outside pubs or off-licences or who are engaging in raves outside people's houses have usually dispersed by the time officers arrive.

I accept that An Garda Síochána is struggling because of a lack of resources. In addition, its members do not have proper equipment. The Minister praised himself earlier, stated how great he is and highlighted the amount of money that has been invested in An Garda Síochána. The force does not even have a half decent radio system to allow its members to communicate with each another and with their barracks. Gardaí are obliged to use their own mobile phones to maintain contact. However, the Minister earlier lauded his response and that of the Garda.

Successive Governments were content to pass law after law but they failed to focus on the causes of crime. Neither did they place an emphasis on why the continual increase in violent crime. Lack of respect, materialism and drug and alcohol misuse are some of the causes of crime. People are engaging in gratuitous, mindless thuggery and violence.

A much greater level of resources needs to be pumped into crime prevention measures, drug schemes, the provision of services to the victim of crime, rehabilitation, and diversionary programmes. If proper investment is made in these areas, results will be forthcoming.

Since I was first elected in 2002, I have called for the adoption of an approach similar to that taken in respect of foot and mouth disease. We should take an all-hands-on-deck approach to the scourge of drugs. We must recall the promise that foot and mouth disease would not kill a solitary soul. However, drugs and gun-related crime are destroying our communities.

All organs of the State should be mobilised to tackle drug-related crime head on. In the opinion of most gardaí and criminologists, approximately 70% of crime in our society is drug related. We should, therefore, tackle the causes and deal with what is causing people to become involved in drug abuse and drink more and more alcohol. If we do this and take steps to confiscate the profits of the drugs barons, we will have achieved something worthwhile.

This Government and its predecessors stand indicted for their failures. In the 1980s when communities cried out for help and eventually took to the streets, the Government response was to batter them down. We still do not have a proper response to the drug crisis in this or any other city. Individual communities and Sinn Féin have continually flagged the need for a proper response. I am sure we could turn the tide if such a response was forthcoming. If we do not tackle this problem, it will become much worse and we will witness further events similar to those in Drimnagh.

I appeal to Ministers to get real and not to engage in self-praise when tabling amendments. The Government should put in place proper responses. The necessary laws and gardaí are in place. We should direct the latter to where the problems lie. We need to focus on community policing. On Question Time, the Minister referred to the effectiveness of community policing. If it is so effective, why can he not demand that the Garda Commissioner, as is the case with the traffic corps, ring-fence the number of community gardaí? If we deploy sufficient numbers of community gardaí, we will be able to rebuild the confidence of communities in the force as a whole. In addition, we will be in a position to bring to an end people's fear in respect of approaching An Garda Síochána.

People need to have confidence in An Garda Síochána in order that they can work with individual officers and ensure they are effective not only in policing communities but in ensuring that crime does not occur in the first instance. The most effective way to tackle anti-social behaviour is to provide communities and the victims of crime with an assurance that the State will protect them.

For over a year, I have been calling for a pilot scheme initiated in Blanchardstown to be rolled out elsewhere. I refer to the "Dial to Stop Drug Dealing" scheme, under which an anonymous telephone line was provided to encourage those who feared approaching An Garda Síochána or using ordinary telephone lines to share information with the force on drugs or drug-related crime. People who used the special telephone line could not be identified and could not then become targets for mindless thugs. The pilot scheme in Blanchardstown led to the arrest and prosecution of many drug dealers. This is a great scheme but the Minister will not put his money where his mouth is in respect of it. Rolling the scheme out across the city, or the country in general, would not cost a great deal. If it was rolled out, communities and individuals living in fear would have an avenue by which to report crime. If it only led to the imprisonment of one drug dealer or one violent criminal, it would still be worth it.

I stated earlier that almost 70% of crime is drug related. In such circumstances, any action which frustrates this multi-billion euro industry and the crime associated with it must be welcomed. Every shipment of drugs that enters this country seems to be accompanied by a huge number of weapons. We have not previously seen the importation of these illegal weapons, which are being used on the streets of Dublin and elsewhere, on such a scale. The availability of such weapons is leading to violence, shootings and murder. One need only consider what has happened in Drimnagh and Dublin South-Central in this regard in recent times. An ongoing drugs feud in the area, which has not been properly dealt with, has led to 11 people being killed. In addition, a doorman and a garda were shot by those involved in the feud. These drug-fueled crimes would not have happened if the Government or its predecessors had taken seriously calls for a proper approach to be adopted.

The scale of the lawlessness in Dublin city, particularly in the community I represent, is such that criminals are driving around tooled up with weapons and wearing bullet-proof vests. Only a small minority is engaged in this type of activity. Most people are law-abiding but live in fear because of the State's failure to stand up to those involved in drug crime. The example they give to the young, alcohol-fuelled criminals coming up behind them is that it is okay to carry on in this way. It is not okay. If the State is not willing to come up to the mark, communities will have to take to the streets as they did in the 1980s. We have learnt our lessons from that period but if all arms of the State are not willing to stand up, the communities will take to the streets and ensure that this violent trend and the increasing drug scourge are tackled head on.

See this speech in context