Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I acknowledge the Minister's reply but does he accept there is a particular problem in the final two weeks of October annually coinciding with Halloween festivities? For many people in the community, particularly the elderly, Hallowe'en weekend has become a living nightmare as a result of the violence, mayhem and anti-social behaviour of a reprehensible nature that ensues. Operation Tombola, designed to deal with the Hallowe'en festivities, has been a failure. There has not been sufficient emphasis on the illegal importation of fireworks from Northern Ireland and on tackling markets of a dubious nature, which have sprung up in different parts of the country over the past years and specialise in selling goods of dubious quality and origin. Does he accept this requires a specific and specialist response, having regard to the annual recurrence of Halloween violence?

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