Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for that thorough response and, like him, I am fully aware this is a problem that cannot simply be resolved through increased Garda visibility or strengthening our laws. We need to focus on the group of men and boys in our society who seem to think it is acceptable to use violence against people they do not know, be that for the purpose of trying to rob from them or for the purpose of inflicting gratuitous harm upon them. We as a society need to generate a message that this type of behaviour is socially unacceptable. Let us look at how we dealt with drink-driving. Years ago, drink-driving was not treated with the same seriousness as it is today, however, the message went out that it was socially unacceptable. We need to learn from that information campaign as well. It may be the case that we need to start publicising the individuals committing these crimes and perhaps that will have a deterrent impact on them. We need to consider having an information campaign to ensure the recognition that this type behaviour is not acceptable in our society.

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