Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I say this from experience. In our own constituencies, we have all come across situations of families with children involved and there are different scenarios. It is therefore not as straightforward as moving people out of communities. However, where somebody is creating that level of fear and intimidation within an estate or a community, it is really important that the Garda responds and acts, as I believe it does. At the same time, it needs to have the evidence and the support to be able to move forward with prosecutions. Often, it is a prosecution that is needed to move somebody on, or even to take an individual out of the situation where a family and younger children might need to be protected.

Deputy Durkan mentioned people buying properties and unexplained wealth. Obviously, that is the role of CAB. It is important for local gardaí to have sight of what is going on and of who is in what community. People in the community can anonymously reach out to CAB and the Garda the if they feel that somebody in the area has unexplained wealth and has been able to buy property without any sign of how that might have been possible. There are layers to this, but it comes back to investing in communities, investing in resources and supporting communities so they feel that they can come forward and that there will be outcomes at the end.

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