Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have to begin by acknowledging that since we last met as a Dáil only yesterday, four lives have been lost on our roads. I know that communities in counties Mayo and Westmeath have been devastated by the news of this loss of life. I know that I join with everybody in this House in sending our deepest sympathies to the families of those who have died. Tragically, this brings the number of lives lost on Irish roads already this year to 97. Of course, no number can hide the reality of the personal tragedy and upset and the loss to family and friends behind each of those numbers. I wanted to acknowledge this as a stark reminder of the importance of road safety and the dangers on our roads.

I thank Deputy McDonald for raising this very important issue. I am absolutely appalled by the recent vicious attack in Dublin city centre, which resulted in the death of a young man, Neno Dolmajian. My thoughts are with his loved ones. He came here on his holidays from Montreal to, as the Deputy said, enjoy the best of our city and country. The attack was absolutely reprehensible. The Garda have already made arrests and charges in relation to this attack and therefore I am somewhat limited in what I can say on this horrific tragedy. I know that there will now be a full murder inquiry because of the loss of Neno's life yesterday. Everybody in this House is thinking of his family at this very difficult time.

I want the Deputy, the people of Dublin, the people of Ireland and anyone visiting this country to know that we take the safety of people in our city extraordinarily seriously. In many ways, that was evident last weekend when we saw so many people come to Dublin to Croke Park for GAA matches, to one of the four concerts on in different locations across the city or to partake in the Pride festival.

Thousands of people came to Dublin last weekend to enjoy our city and to do so safely. That is the Dublin I know we are all proud of and that is the Dublin we all want to protect.

On public safety, the Garda Commissioner has put significant resources into high-visibility policing in Dublin city centre and I want the Deputy to know that will continue. A very practical example of that is what happened as recently as last week as well when 157 new gardaí attest, or graduate, from Templemore Garda College. Of that 157, 102 have been assigned to policing duties in Dublin. In addition, we are very much putting our money where our mouth is in terms of the priority we attach to safety having increased the Garda overtime budget for this year compared to last year by €28 million. For people watching in at home, that is not simply extra money; it is extra money that results in very many extra hours of gardaí on the beat across our city and across towns and cities around Ireland. Specifically, Operation Irene has commenced in Dublin. It is a specific Garda operation that runs for the summer months, from June to September, across the Dublin metropolitan region. It is, as the Deputy rightly implies, a multiagency operation with the aim of identifying and preventing antisocial behaviour, combating underage alcohol consumption and the consumption of alcohol in public places and generally putting a Garda focus in the summer months specifically on antisocial behaviour. Operation Irene’s overall aim is to enhance community safety and confidence. There are more gardaí in Dublin, more garda overtime for Dublin, a new operation Irene for the summer months and also a new Dublin city centre task force, which, in fairness, the Deputy and her colleagues welcomed and which will provide the opportunity for Dublin representatives, including the Deputy, councillors, TDs and Senators to feed into what a vibrant, safe Dublin city centre looks like with a view for that task force reporting to me over the summer months.

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