Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

Part 11 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, which provides for civil proceedings for anti-social behaviour by adults, was commenced on 1 January 2007. Part 13 of the Act, relating to anti-social behaviour by children, was commenced on 1 March 2007. These provisions set out an incremental procedure for addressing anti-social behaviour by adults and children. This incremental procedure was chosen in order to have maximum flexibility available to address unacceptable anti-social behaviour. In addition to these procedures to combat anti-social behaviour, there are also provisions for public order fixed charge notices and the Garda adult cautioning scheme. The main legislation dealing with anti-social behaviour is the Public Order Act 1994, and since 2002 over 520,000 public order offences have been detected under Operation Encounter.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that from 1 January 2007 to 23 February 2009, a total of 988 behaviour warnings were issued to adults and 684 warnings to children. A total of 12 formal good behaviour contracts, which are used only in the case of children, have also been entered into. It is only where such warnings or contracts are unsuccessful that the question of seeking court orders arises. Members of the Garda Síochána made eight applications to the courts for civil orders in respect of adults and behaviour orders in respect of children; six of these applications were successful, resulting in three civil orders and three behaviour orders being issued by the courts. The court refused one application for a civil order and one for a behaviour order.

These provisions have been in operation for almost two years and they have made a significant contribution to addressing the problem of anti-social behaviour. Nevertheless, it is appropriate at this stage to review the operation of the legislation to see whether any improvements can be made. In this context, I am seeking a report from the Garda Commissioner on its operation over the past two years.

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