Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the national youth justice strategy. There are changes that we in Sinn Féin would make. Detention should be considered for juveniles or young people convicted of serious crimes such as sex offences, murder and manslaughter. That said, early intervention is key. The strategy acknowledges many offenders will have multiple disadvantages. Socioeconomic status is one such disadvantage, and my constituency has many people who face socioeconomic disadvantage daily. It is important to acknowledge that we will not police our way out of the challenges that face communities in the inner city. We have a great local Garda force. Pearse Street and Kevin Street Garda stations are really helpful and very professional, and they are very patient in the face of much provocation. Resources really are lacking where Garda numbers are concerned. The superintendent in Pearse Street, Mr. Dermot McKenna, engages very closely with local residents and tries to ensure there is no glaring lack of resources.

Along with an increase in Garda resources, there needs to be greater employment opportunities for less affluent inner-city communities. Also needed are greater educational opportunities. Legislation is also needed to tackle socioeconomic issues. This process could have been started some months ago when Deputy Wynne and I introduced legislation to address and tackle socioeconomic disadvantage and outlaw discrimination. Unfortunately, the Government is dragging its heels. The Minister has said he hopes the legislation will be in place before the end of the life of this Government. I am not as convinced but I believe it is really important. To be fair to the Minister, he has acknowledged this. I hope he will back up his words of several months ago with deeds and ensure the legislation is enacted before the end of the lifetime of this Government.

At City Quay in the Pearse Street area, there is a youth club called Talk About Youth that does absolutely fantastic work for the young people but does not have an own-door facility. It has to rent space when it wants to work with the young people and it does not always rent it in the same building. It has to go here and there, or wherever it can find the space to rent, to do the work with the young people in the south inner city. The Government should act further on the findings in the Mulvey report and extend to the south inner city the resources that followed the report. The reality is that the north and south inner-city areas are one community, albeit divided by a river. Now, unfortunately, because of Government actions, the community has been divided on the basis of resources available to community and youth groups, and that is a huge issue. People would say there are issues affecting the north inner city but they affect the south inner city equally. The lack of resources, educational opportunities and job opportunities, combined with the neglect of flat complexes and public housing in the south inner city, adds to the disconnect between young people and their local community and society.

The flats are neglected and the conditions are shocking. I was in a flat complex not far from here today. In the stairwell, the smell of stagnant water, urine and Jeyes Fluid was absolutely sickening. There were bars and razor wire along the tops of the flats. It looked more like Mountjoy Prison but I would imagine that is being unfair to Mountjoy. I invite every Minister to come down to the flats to see the neglect residents have to put up with. We can have in place all the strategies and plans we want but nothing will change unless they are backed up with resources.

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