Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for that comprehensive response. I do not doubt for a second that no one has a monopoly of care for the city or that everyone wants to see it policed effectively. Nonetheless, too often we hear about initiatives such the ones laid out by the Minister of State that have a displacement effect. Very purposely, I chose Dublin 7 with that in mind. Greater attention has rightfully been given to the city centre. While I question how effective that has been, there has been a bigger Garda presence in the more commercial city centre areas. At the same time, that has created a displacement effect where, because it is not in the city centre, the activity has inevitably been pushed into surrounding communal areas, so it starts in the residential areas of Dublin 1 but then moves to Dublin 7. It almost has to be facilitated there because these problems are not going to go away simply with Garda intervention alone.

What we have had for over four decades is a merry-go-round of the State seeing a problem in particular areas, such as what has been happening in the city centre with the Taoiseach's new task force and the greater emphasis there, but this simply pushes antisocial behaviour into residential areas. That is a massive frustration for those of us who have to come to the House to highlight particular areas, knowing we are just going to push problems around in a carousel-like manner.

What I ask from the Government and the State is to deliver on the minimum expectations of a citizen who wishes to live or work in a particular community. We would all accept that nobody should have to walk their child to school through a plume of smoke. Nobody should have to open their door and see a person who can be intimidating engaging in the sale of drugs, or some unfortunate soul who has succumbed to that lying on the ground. There are a multitude of different interventions that could happen. Very simply, the people I represent understand that these issues are complex and they have lived with them for decades. What they cannot understand is how the same issues keep repeating over and over again ad infinitum. It is about the minimum expectations of a citizen. I would like to see an increased Garda presence, a greater number of detoxification beds for those who need them and greater enforcement around schools and playgrounds.

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