Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to debate this strategy. I acknowledge the work of the Ministers, Deputies McEntee, and Humphreys and the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, but, as my colleague opposite mentioned, Deputy Stanton also played a significant role in this area both as chairman of the justice committee and as a Minister of State in the Department.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this strategy focused on taking significant and important steps to tackle anti-social behaviour in our town, villages and cities across the State.

I am sure all Members will have seen numerous videos of antisocial behaviour over the past weeks, months and indeed years. Many people will have witnessed antisocial behaviour themselves. Every week new videos emerge highlighting antisocial behaviour and violence on our streets and our public transport networks. These videos and indeed this experience contribute to a culture of anxiety, particularly for commuters, the elderly and people in their workplaces.

Over the summer in my own constituency we witnessed numerous antisocial behaviour events leading to damage of property and local amenities which in certain cases damaged brand new facilities. Deputy Howlin mentioned this also happened in his constituency. It is particularly galling to those who put such effort into the community to deliver them. It is an intolerable situation and one we should not have to worry about. We should not have to worry about letting our children play in local greens and community spaces and no one should fear taking public transport, especially at night, or indeed even in the evening. No one should have to avoid whole sections of the city due to personal safety fears yet here we are. Our communities and public spaces are there to be enjoyed by everybody, not to be hijacked by a cohort of people who have no respect for the community or indeed general society.

While this kind of behaviour is not the exclusive preserve of young people, nor do the vast majority of young people engage in such behaviour, we must recognise there are a significant number of incidents involving people from this age group and we must restore confidence within the general public that our communities are there for everybody and that they are safe. The strategy is a starting point in our efforts to achieve this goal and I am pleased to see the development of the strategy’s stakeholder engagement agenda was given priority. It is vital for the development of sustainable policies that local communities, gardaí and other groups at the coalface are engaged together because they know where the fault lines are and where solutions can be found to remedy them.

The strategy rightly recognises that to successfully implement this kind of change requires cross-Department co-operation. Importantly the development of an expert-led forum on antisocial behaviour will inform future legislation, including the examination and introduction of powers for the Garda and new interventions and support measures for the parents of offenders. It is also important this forum consider the sources and reasons behind antisocial behaviour, some of which will not be new such as, for example, economic advantage or indeed lack of opportunity. However, more deep-lying issues may be at play, including mental health, and we must explore these avenues appropriately. Only through understanding the problem can we reduce properly the incidence of antisocial behaviour and introduce solutions to solve the problem. There has been progress on the issue in recent months including action on scramblers, which have been the scourge of many communities for many years. We have also seen progress in getting more gardaí out of their offices and onto the beat. This will result in significant improvements and already has done in certain communities, allowing gardaí to carry out their duties and be present in a community rather than being kept behind desks dealing with administrative work. While these are important steps that will make a difference to communities across the country, we must build on these advancements. Combined with an ambition within the national youth justice strategy, particularly with respect to early intervention and family supports, we can begin to turn the tide on antisocial behaviour.

Consideration is also being given it given to criminalising adults who groom children to commit crimes, and this is most welcome. It is a sad reality that adults engaged in criminality in Ireland, especially those in gangs, will attempt to pressurise and force young people to carry out criminal acts on their behalf. Moreover, the examination of increasing the age limit for applications for the youth diversionary programme to 24 years could help expand the net in which we can help and hopefully rehabilitate vulnerable young people, thus breaking the cycle of violence in their lives. I must of course mention organisations such as Youthreach and other service providers who are a link in the chain and a pathway to these diversionary projects, or indeed avoidance of these diversionary projects in the first instance. I urge the Ministers of State to ensure these programmes and initiatives have the resources needed to be successful. This is true too of An Garda Síochána. While I welcome the significant level of funding increases in recent years - totalling approximately €1.9 billion in 2021, which has also allowed for an increase in numbers of gardaí and staff - statistically speaking, when we compare ourselves to our near neighbours, the number of members in AGS is quite low. As society changes the policing model must change with it and that clearly means greater numbers.

I welcome continued investment in this area, as I have done since I joined Dáil Éireann in 2011. These problems will not be solved overnight and require long-term planning and investment to ensure all those who play a part in the justice system are properly resourced. It would be remiss of me not to mention the Courts Service, which is under-resourced per capitawhen compared with other jurisdictions, especially common law ones. That is something that must be addressed as well. I welcome the publication of this strategy. I look forward to assisting in its implementation in whatever way I can. I again express my appreciation to the Ministers and Minsters of State responsible.

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