Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I do not accept that. The ASBO legislation has been in situ for only two years and I have asked the Garda Commissioner to review its operation in response, to a certain extent, to remarks by the Opposition. It is unfair to say it has been a failure when one sees the numbers of the various procedures set up before one goes for a court order. There is a sequence in how it is set out in the legislation. It was the intention of this House and the Seanad when we passed the legislation that the ASBO would be the last resort. That has been the situation in that hundreds of the other mechanisms, such as warnings, have been implemented by the Garda and have had an effect, because only in a rare number of cases have they gone to court. That is because the gardaí decided they did not need to do so. Contracts and warnings have been successful.

It is wrong to say this has not been a success just because there has been only a handful of ASBOs. People such as the Deputy normally suggest we should examine other methods of dealing with people convicted of offences regarding rehabilitation and community work, etc. The gardaí should be commended for not going the whole way in many cases because they make their own judgments in this area.

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