Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I fundamentally believe that when we see crime, we should understand the context in which it occurs and the conditions which gave rise to it. However, I also believe that when people tell me they feel unsafe, there is an onus on us to create the conditions in which they start to feel safe again. In the city of Dublin at the moment, people genuinely feel unsafe. At the very heart of that are people who do not look like me. The people who feel unsafe are migrants, women and those who are of a different sexual persuasion to me.

We have seen images of attacks and violence on our streets captured on social media. When we see footage on social media of Deliveroo drivers being attacked, I am conscious that this is only a drop in the ocean when one considers what we do not see. It pains me to say that in the city of Dublin at the moment, people simply do not feel safe. There is an onus upon us in this Chamber to confront the issues that give rise to these attacks. I took the opportunity today to visit Pearse Street Garda station to meet Superintendent Dermot McKenna, who is a really good guy. One of the issues I relayed to him is that we simply need to see more gardaí on our streets. We need to see more gardaí around the city of Dublin, wearing the uniform and creating the conditions in which people can be made to feel safe, such as by intervening at the earliest opportunity.

I am conscious that the Houses are located in an area that is close to where people were attacked and where they feel unsafe. At the gates of Leinster House at the moment are gardaí who have been deployed from Pearse Street Garda station to stand outside and do the important work they do. However, policing in a city centre context is different. We need to provide as many personnel resources as possible in order that gardaí can police the protests that happen in every democratic society, guard Dáil Éireann and make people feel safe when they come into the city. There is an onus on us to do that.

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