Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on the recent spate of violence in Dublin city. Last Thursday’s attack on three innocent children and their carer outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire shocked the nation. I send my best wishes to the children, one of whom is still in critical care, their carer, their families and all those who intervened to stop the attack. I commend the emergency services on their response to the various incidents of that evening.

It is appalling to think something like this, and the subsequent violence, could occur in our capital city. However, we saw during the pandemic the streets of Dublin become increasingly unsafe for people living, working and visiting. People report being terrorised by gangs as they try to go about their business. After dark, there is a palpable sense of fear in parts of the city. Clearly, not enough is being done to tackle the issue. The time for press statements and PR events has long passed. People want to see real results. The public want an immediate crackdown on violence, drug dealing, antisocial behaviour and criminal activity. We need gardaí visible in numbers across the city centre. This should be the focus and I know it is the focus of the Minister, her Department and Garda HQ.

It is not just the Department of Justice we need action from. We need a multiagency approach, including for the Department of Social Protection to review the cases of people in receipt of social welfare for many years or decades who have been terrorising communities for a long time. Ashling Murphy’s boyfriend, Ryan Casey, made the plea in a recent victim impact statement. We need to heed that call in this House and to see urgent action on this from the Taoiseach and relevant Ministers.

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