Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

Every piece of legislation is reviewed. If the Garda Síochána bring to my attention some unease with regard to any piece of legislation we will have a look at it with the Attorney General. In this regard, there are approximately ten community sanctions, including the community service order, day centre order, probation order, training or activity programme order, intensive supervision order, residential supervision order, a suitable person care and supervision order, a mentor family support order, a restriction of movement order - which is, in effect, a curfew - and a dual order.

With regard to ASBOs, there was a discussion in the House earlier and I beg to differ with anyone who suggests that because only three orders were granted, this is in some way an indication of a lack of success. Some 1,541 behaviour warnings have been issued by the Garda Síochána. The principle behind ASBOs is that of an incremental process in order to ensure as much as possible that children are not brought to court. The was to prevent them going to court under a criminal sanction and the graduated approach to ASBOs is to ensure they do not end up in court under another procedure.

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