Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy O'Gorman. I am happy to take any answers that might be in correspondence afterwards.

Like others, I want to raise the issue of direct provision. We have been talking about the importance of equality in this session and something we will be judged on is how more vulnerable groups were treated during this pandemic. I look at the infection rates among those living in direct provision and they are significantly higher than those among the general population. That is quite worrying. The scenes in Cahersiveen show exactly the problems there are for many of the people living in direct provision. The reality is that direct provision has been with us for quite a long time, these problems that we are seeing were predictable and the slow pace of reform or the lack of any movement to reform has made these problems inevitable.

We have to accept that we are where we are, but the Chief Medical Officer stated clearly that sharing bedrooms with non-family members does not allow for social distancing. It seems the HSE has a new definition of household, which allows us to sidestep some of these public health concerns within direct provision centres. The significantly higher infection rate for those living in direct provision compared to the general population is the inevitable result of that kind of sidestepping. It is important that we look at those in direct provision and do what we can as quickly as possible. Creative solutions were suggested earlier today by other Deputies. We need to embrace those.

I also want to look at the issue of antisocial and criminal behaviour. I appreciate that the Garda now has new responsibilities in enforcing the Covid-19 legislation but as the Minister has said, ordinary policing work goes on. A balance must be struck. I am particularly thinking of places within my own constituency. The issue of antisocial behaviour, violence and criminal behaviour was raised on numerous doorsteps in and around Bluebell while I was canvassing during the election. Some constituents have commented that this has become significantly worse during the lockdown. This is now the only kind of activity taking place out on the streets. It is not just a perception caused by quiet streets. There has been an escalation in violence and criminality. There have been gunshots fired in the area in recent weeks. This has left residents very concerned and worried.

Some good stuff is being done on the ground. Constituents have spoken to me about the good work being done by youth services in the area, which is helping to divert children and young people. Unfortunately, as we have spoken about before, many of these services are under strain due to restrictions. A lot of good work is also being done on a cross-party basis by local councillors. I thank my colleague, Councillor Sophie Nicoullaud, who is doing great work with the other local councillors, policing forums and community groups.

There is a lack of policing in this area and we need a stronger police response. Moreover, it must be a creative police response. A lot of issues arise along the bike path by the canal. Providing bikes to members of the Garda would enable much more effective policing of that stretch and would be a lot cheaper than the high-tech resources the Garda gets in other areas. There have also been calls for increased use of motorbike patrols to help patrol some of the estates in the area. This does not seem to be happening. It would be very beneficial to adopt some of these creative responses to help address the rising criminality and violence within this community, which is leaving many residents quite scared.

I also want to briefly touch on another issue which is quite important, given that many of us are working from home and given the roll-out of the Covid-19 tracing application as part of easing the lockdown. Later this month, we will mark the two-year anniversary of the general data protection regulation, GDPR. Part of that regulation requires us to provide our Data Protection Commission with all the resources it needs to investigate and prosecute any breaches of the GDPR. Earlier this month a report in The New York Times discussed the weakness of our regulator and its importance arising from its dealings with the big tech companies here in Ireland. Our Data Protection Commission regulator is the single most important data protection commissioner in the European Union. The report in the The New York Times quoted a report by Brave, a privacy-focused browser company, which examined the situation. This report found that there are 21 tech specialists working in the Data Protection Commission. That is not nearly enough to hold big tech to account.

It is important the State shows we are serious about tackling these issues and supporting the rights of citizens regarding privacy and GDPR, and that we give the full resources the Data Protection Commissioner needs to prosecute her specialist role.

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