James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies O'Callaghan and Gannon for raising what is clearly a very important matter. The Government, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and I are determined to tackle antisocial and violent behaviour. We are conscious of the effect it can have on people's quality of life and safety. We are, of course, aware of the effect it can have on residents and businesses of Dublin city, and on many of us who want to visit our capital city and enjoy what it has to offer.

The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and I are also aware of the importance of high-visibility policing and know that people feel safe when they see the presence of An Garda Síochána in Dublin. The Minister met with senior members of An Garda Síochána in Dublin city, as recently as last week, to discuss the issues raised by the Deputies. She also met with representatives of the businesses in Dublin city centre, including local representatives, to hear their concerns. The Minister and I will be in regular contact with An Garda Síochána and others as we progress through the autumn and winter on the actions being taken to ensure people feel safe in Dublin and other towns and cities throughout Ireland.

It is clear that incidents of assault or intimidation are completely unacceptable. People must feel safe in their communities. Preventing children and young people getting involved and diverting them from criminality after having become involved in it, is a key priority for me and both the programme for Government and the Justice Plan 2021, which contain a number of commitments in regards to this and the broader issue of tackling antisocial behaviour more generally and violent crime. In line with a commitment in the programme for Government, last year I established an expert forum on antisocial behaviour. This forum considers the effectiveness of existing legislation and proposes a new way forward, including new powers for An Garda Síochána and additional interventions to support parenting and offenders on a social level to help divert them from criminal activity. A subgroup of the forum has already considered measures which can be taken with regard to the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes in communities, and similar subgroups can be established for other issues. For instance, this week I chaired the first meeting of another subgroup on the issue of knife crime, a matter Deputy O'Callaghan has raised on numerous occasions in this Chamber. The group will now consider evidence-based best practice in addressing this issue which will inform both potential changes to legislation, as well as community safety policies, programmes, practices and interventions.

In April, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and I published the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027. It considers the full range of issues connected to children and young people at risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system, including early intervention and preventive work, family support, diversion from crime, through to court processes and facilities, supervision of offenders, detention and reintegration and support post-release. For the Deputies information, the current Garda strength as of the end of August in the Dublin metropolitan region, north central and south central divisions, which cover Dublin city is 1,384 members of all ranks. This amounts to an increase of almost 14% since the end of 2015. The divisions are further supported by Garda staff numbering 187, which is a 75% increase since the end of 2015. A key part of what is happening at present is the hiring of more Garda staff so existing Garda members can be redeployed into Garda duties and away from administrative duties.

I am assured that An Garda Síochána will continue to implement high-visibility policing plans in Dublin city to address public disorder related issues and antisocial behaviour, with particular overt and targeted policing of public places at times when public order incidents and antisocial behaviour typically increase, such as bank holidays and weekends. These uniformed members are supported by members attached to the division on drugs unit and the district crime prevention units performing covert patrols, gathering intelligence and, where appropriate, delivering effective policing interventions. In addition, the Garda national public order unit continues to be deployed in Dublin city and surrounding areas to address complaints raised by local residents and businesses regarding instances of antisocial behaviour.

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