Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As a Dublin Deputy, I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on safety in our capital city. Dublin is a brilliant city. It is a place I am proud to live and work in. It is a place to which people come from all over the world to visit and stay. Of course, we are not without our problems, and this is especially so when it comes to safety on our streets. Building stronger safer communities is a priority for the Government. We have seen this reflected very much in the actions of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Department. I am encouraged by the ongoing investment and innovation in making Dublin a safer place to live, work and visit.

Recently the issue of car theft and joyriding was brought to the fore in news and media coverage. We saw blatant disregard and disrespect for the safety of communities and the safety of gardaí on our streets. I commend the Minister, Deputy McEntee, the Department and the Garda on acting so quickly to engage with communities and send out the message that car theft is a serious crime to which there are serious consequences. While just one incident from this was caught on camera, unfortunately, for some communities their sense of security is threatened quite often by this sort of antisocial behaviour. This is not right. Supporting communities to take back the streets and speaking up to the Garda about perpetrators of crime and those engaging in antisocial behaviour is very important. This is where the importance of investing in community policing and a Garda presence cannot be overstated. In my constituency of Dublin Mid-West I am seeing an increase in car theft which I have to say is quite concerning. It is very important we continue to treat instances of car theft as serious crimes, because they are. We must put the necessary resources into cracking down on car thieves. A stolen car is sometimes treated as something of a low-level crime. It is not low level for the victim. It turns a person's life upside down.

The are implications for their transport and insurance, and claims are impacted. The shock of being the victim of a crime can be quite awful.

An issue I want to raise is catalytic converters being stolen from cars in estates in my constituency. It is an issue about which I am hearing more of by way of reports coming into my office and I know the Garda has reported the theft of catalytic convertors is on the rise. For us in Dublin Mid-West, complaints have come in from victims of such crime in Saint Helen's, Adamstown, Newcastle and Rathcoole, to name but a few areas. What is the Department and, indeed, the Garda doing to address this issue? Catalytic converter theft is a known risk among drivers and gardaí. There is a need for regulations on their installation when it comes to theft prevention. I know that is not directly within the remit of the Minister, but I wanted to put it on the Dáil record.

The best way to make people feel safer on our streets in Dublin is to improve Garda presence. Increased visibility to deter anti-social and criminal activity works and it also makes people feel safer. In order to increase Garda presence, we need more gardaí. We need to bring in new recruits and ensure An Garda Síochána is an attractive career path for people. Whether it is traffic management, community policing, or cracking down on antisocial behaviour or gangland criminality, we cannot keep our streets safe without our gardaí. Garda presence is important at all points of the day, but especially in the evenings and night time.

It has been said that certain areas of Dublin city can be a little intimidating and, frankly, unenjoyable to be around at night time. The combination of a lack of rubbish bins and public toilets, as well as the more sinister activities such as antisocial behaviour and open drug-dealing, are real issues in parts of our capital. O’Connell street is one of Ireland’s most iconic and well-known streets but, in reality, many Irish people feel it is the last place they would want to be alone at night time, and that is sad. Whether a person is coming home from work or school, waiting for a bus or walking to a bar or restaurant, at times, there is a distinct feeling of insecurity around Dublin’s main street.

I welcome the ongoing work done by gardaí in Store Street Garda station under Operation Spire. They are targeting antisocial behaviour and drug dealing around the area to restore safety and security to O’Connell Street. That will make it a safer place to walk, shop or wait for a bus.

We cannot talk about safety on our streets in Dublin without speaking about public transport as they are so closely linked, especially when it comes to night life and the night-time economy. I add my support to calls for a dedicated public transport police, which we heard about this afternoon. By and large, being on public transport in Dublin is a safe place to be and staff working across our public transport links do a great job at keeping people safe, but they can only do so much. The visible presence of a public transport police, especially on city-centre routes, would contribute greatly to improved safety for all commuters.

I commend the introduction of 24-hour bus routes. Routes C and G are 24-hour routes that are well used by commuters in Dublin Mid-West. Route C has been in operation for about a year and route G is our brand-new route. They are used at night when we know taxis are in short supply. For that reason, 24-hour bus routes can be a real lifesaver for commuters making their way home late at night.

The current lack of taxis on our streets in Dublin has to be flagged as a safety concern and I have raised this issue before in the Chamber. Again, it is not necessarily within the remit of the Minister, but we could be encouraging more taxi drivers onto our roads by addressing waiting lists for licenses and by reducing VAT on new cars used as taxis. That would also help the 3,750 taxi drivers whose vehicles may shortly be too old to operate as taxis. Free Now is warning of an imminent taxi driver shortage, the impact of which will be felt by Christmas party goers.

Being stranded in the city centre at night time, with no sign of a taxi and no immediate way to get home, is not just annoying. It can also be scary and unsafe. There are groups, including women, who feel more vulnerable on the streets of Dublin. I highlight the experience of members of the LGBT+ community in particular. Attacks on people from this community on Dublin’s streets have been particularly shocking and upsetting. While we work on making Dublin a safe place in which to live, work and socialise, it is important that we do not leave any groups out of that vision. Under the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy, An Garda Síochána is working to increase significantly the reporting of hate crimes by members of the LGBTI+ community. I welcome and encourage that. We need a more open relationship between the LGBT community and the Garda. I know this is being developed and I commend that. The legislation on hate crime, which is moving through the House, will be instrumental in allowing us to hold perpetrators of these kinds of crimes to account.

Dublin is a great place to live. There is no doubt the will and investment is there to make it an even greater and, crucially, a safer place to live and visit.

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