Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In the reply the Minister gave me a few months ago, he stated that he was in ongoing contact with the Garda Commissioner and was committed to ensuring that the Garda had the necessary resources to deal with all types of criminality in our communities. Nevertheless, local superintendents reported at a joint policing committee for the north central region in late summer that the move towards armed specialist units had meant local units had suffered from depleted resources. That brings us back again to the need for community policing and to ensure that the necessary resources are made available. Will the Minister come out to the Dublin metropolitan region north Garda district to visit the affected areas himself and meet directly with residents and some of the excellent community development activists who work diligently on the ground to promote more peaceful, safe and respectful communities? Many of those leaders have given years of service and volunteer hours but, unfortunately, they feel let down by the Government, Garda and local authorities with regard to the current wave of anti-social and criminal behaviour.

Some residents and community activists have reported to me that when they have contacted local gardaí, they were told that the resources were not available to send a car. In one case, a constituent alleges that he was told to get in touch with a local Deputy. When one's street is being terrorised on a nightly basis, it is simply not good enough to hear such a response. People are afraid to speak out and we know that when they do, they are often targeted, intimidated and harassed. The estate most affected is supposed to have a Dublin City Council system of camera surveillance to act as a deterrent to this type of crime. Unfortunately, there have been regular disruptions. Why are these cameras not being monitored from Dublin City Council headquarters at Wood Quay or from the local civic offices for the north side on Bunratty Road to provide vital information to the Garda? Citizens have also asked whether there is a major role for plain-clothes surveillance and unmarked cars to invigilate and end this type of crime. The citizens I represent want an urgent and total end to the re-emergence of joyriding as a crime and the associated mayhem and anti-social behaviour which accompanies it. They want peace and security in our district.

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