Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There has been an unprecedented increase in the use of illegal fireworks across communities in Dublin. In my constituency of Dublin North-West, we have been plagued by individuals letting off bangers and rockets on a continual basis during the day, in the evening and at night for nearly three months. People are at the end of their tether with these incessant and at times deafening daily explosions. They are causing a great amount of distress to residents, animals, pets and the elderly.

What surprises me most is there seems to be an endless supply of these fireworks. If the past three months are any indication, there does not seem to be any obstacle to people's ability to get their hands on them. I am aware there is an increasing number of incidents where individuals have used them in a dangerous manner by targeting people's homes, shops and transport. Fireworks have also been aimed recklessly at people, children and animals and as a result some have had serious injuries. This places an additional and unnecessary burden on our already hard-pressed emergency and hospital services at a time when resources should be focused on combating this pandemic.

With such large quantities of fireworks available, I fear for what will happen at Hallowe'en and in the build-up to it. I expect a serious escalation in the use of these illegal fireworks to the detriment of our community. We need a strong Garda response to this issue now. The Garda needs the resources to tackle this antisocial activity, which has gone far beyond being a nuisance and is a daily torment for our community. The reality on the ground is that community gardaí are being released from duty each evening at 7 p.m., at a time when this sort of activity more likely to occur. More members of the Garda should be made available to safeguard communities from this scourge. This can happen more readily if the Garda overtime ban is removed, particularly from those areas most affected by this problem. I have spoken previously in the Dáil about the effect of the illegal use of fireworks, particularly on those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, or on those with sensory sensitivity issues such as children with autism. They, like older residents of our communities, are feeling terrorised on a daily basis with these fireworks. They feel trapped in their homes and the noise levels are so high at times that it is impossible to drown out the noise of this latest generation of bangers and rockets. Our communities are now feeling the effects of cuts to policing, which plays a vital role in combating antisocial activity. Until these cuts are reversed and real recruitment begins, this antisocial behaviour will continue.

Every year, Finglas and Ballymun have their own fireworks display and Dublin City Council has done a marvellous job in bringing communities with them and in reducing the number of fireworks in the area. I shudder to think what will happen this year because what has already happened will affect forthcoming decisions by Dublin City Council.

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