Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Theesprit de corpsof the commission was a positive one. It was designed to transform. I believe the most important areas are recruitment and education. That is in the next phase and needs a radical change, in my view. We must broaden the experiences of people who apply to An Garda Síochána.

On the other questions, the recruitment is ongoing. A report from the future of policing implementation group was put before the Cabinet today. For example, there will be a greater emphasis on diversity in recruitment and recruitment from minority communities to serve in An Garda Síochána. That is important as well.

Regarding anti-social behaviour, I believe the operational plan is working and appears to be developing. We are recruiting continually to increase the numbers and, to be fair, the numbers working in An Garda Síochána have increased significantly over recent years. A significant allocation was made in the budget for hundreds of additional recruits for An Garda Síochána in 2021 and beyond.

I agree with Deputy Boyd Barrett's analysis regarding the community dimension to this. First, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a very difficult time for young people in this country. The report just published by the Central Statistics Office shows that the lowest levels of satisfaction with the quality of life are in the 19 to 24 year old age group. If a person was a leaving certificate student last year, his or her year was undermined and upended. On moving to college, that person's first year was not what he or she expected it to be and he or she is approaching January without having had a proper college year.

No one has travelled this year because of Covid. It has been difficult for all age cohorts, but it has been particularly difficult for young people. Jobs have not been as available either because of the various lockdowns and severe restrictions, so outlets where people could get work have not materialised. If one is young, one wants to be out and about. Therefore, there has to be a very multifaceted approach to helping young people to get through this period.

To be fair to An Garda Síochána, in areas where we had anti-social behaviour or difficulties in the past we got the best results by adopting a community-led approach with community gardaí on the ground working with young people and youth workers.

I recently met Deputies McAuliffe and Lahart and the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, on the issue of scramblers in certain communities in Dublin. The Deputies propose to introduce legislation. It reminded me of a period 20 years ago when we had difficulties in communities with joyriding and so on. The development of An Garda Síochána's community model helped to deal effectively with situations in communities. We must reinvest in communities and rebuild the infrastructure in certain communities to support community development. Something like a modern version of the revitalising areas by planning, investment and development, RAPID, programme is required. The Minister of State, Deputy Joe O’Brien, is keen on that. There was a meeting yesterday of the Cabinet subcommittee on social affairs and equality and we identified areas like that for further work and development. We need to build up a multidisciplinary team of supports in communities that have challenges to help those of all ages to deal with them.

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