Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

We are dealing with amendment No. 62. Hopefully, the genius who changed the screens so that we can no longer read the amendment numbers might fix the problem through Dáil reform. I missed my previous amendment, No. 61, because of it, but the amendments under discussion address the same issues, namely, anti-social behaviour and the rights and wrongs of local authorities in that respect.

I agree with Deputy Ciarán Lynch's amendment No. 62 because a rapid system of action is necessary after the normal system of checks and balances has been used. Eviction is to be used as a last resort after preventative and other interim processes, such as warning letters, interviews and case conferences, have been exhausted. It is a question of proportionality. The rapid system must not be used as a punishment. There must be a remedy, otherwise people will become homeless. While this will be through their own fault, society will need to address the problem.

Other jurisdictions use different schemes and we must consider how to take the best of what they do. The local authority in Glasgow made a presentation about what it does to address persistent anti-social behaviour. The family in question will be moved to a separate location and work will be done with them for a number of months until the problems are addressed.

Other Deputies have addressed the problems that can arise in detail. I could go on and on about incidents in private and public housing in my area, such as Dolphin's Barn and Rialto, which have been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently. There are even private landlords who are trying to address anti-social elements. The fact that rent supplement is not always paid to the landlord but to tenants can make landlords fearful they will lose the rent if they move against those tenants or challenge them.

There is a reluctance in some areas to allow social housing because of the reputation of some estates. The RAS scheme, where a landlord decides to take local authority tenants, often involves private estates where in the past local authorities might have bought houses.

This whole area also deals with voluntary housing schemes and how they address anti-social behaviour. The rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords must be spelled out. Potentially one or two bad tenants can bring down an entire area so we must ensure the proper supports exist for the local authority to address this. If there is drug dealing, it is a matter for the gardaí and requires additional support.

Some of the problems can been addressed through extra resources for the local authority. In my area in some houses they were breeding vicious dogs. No one knew about it because the neighbours were not saying anything. Eventually the local estate management officers were informed and they acted quickly because the matter was covered by the tenancy agreement. The problem then arose that the family reacted against the neighbours who they presumed were the ones who "squealed" on them. It was not the neighbours, it was someone else who was concerned about animal welfare.

There is also the issue of tenants on drugs or who are drunk who destroy the property and then expect the local authority to fix it. That cannot continue. Even if the tenant is evicted, there is a huge loss to the local authority because it must spend time and money doing up that house. There are persistent offenders, with threats, robberies, joy riding, intimidation and even prostitution in some of these houses.

The promotion of good estate management is of vital importance and measures to address anti-social behaviour are key. It is important that local authorities are seen to take the sort of rapid and effective action that is called for in this amendment. If it does not happen it discourages other tenants from coming forward with information about abuse of the property of the people, paid for through their taxes. If they do not see any response from the local authority or gardaí, they will do what many people are doing, they will keep their heads down, say it is nothing to do with them and hope the matter will go away.

I urge the Minister of State to consider the amendments dealing with anti-social behaviour. They are intended to ensure local authorities are not handcuffed but that they are free to deal with the issue as effectively as possible within the confines of human rights legislation. Other tenants and neighbours, however, also have rights. There are duties incumbent on local authorities as landlords and rights and responsibilities for tenants.

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