Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister, I thank the Deputies again for raising this issue. As I and both Deputies have said, community safety is a whole-of-government responsibility and it requires a multiagency approach. I agree with the Deputies that there are great communities in the area. They spoke of the role of sports clubs, which are important. I agree on addiction and dual diagnosis issues, which are profound everywhere at the moment.

Gardaí in Kevin Street are very active within the community, both from a community engagement angle and in terms of operations aimed at improving feelings of safety. These include high-visibility patrols in areas identified as having high levels of crime and antisocial behaviour, and operations targeting criminal elements within such areas. Gardaí have assured the Minister they will continue to commit district and divisional resources to disrupting and dismantling the illegal activities of individuals and work with key stakeholders in all communities where such activity is having a serious impact on the lives of the people.

I will take on board the Deputies' comments. They said a community development response is required. This response is from the Minister for Justice and will obviously focus on gardaí and the policing part of it. The Deputies also said there is no sense of urgency in dealing with the issues in the area. The approach being taken brings together the local community and local service providers under an independent chair to develop a community safety plan for their area and, more importantly, to work in partnership with the area. Politicians, including local authority members, are always to the fore in driving their community forward as best they can. I will bring the Deputies' concerns to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, including in respect of a multiagency task force for the Dublin 8 area.

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