Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Dublin city centre is no longer safe. That is a statement of reality. People who live, work and visit our capital city have been robbed of their sense of safety and this has been the case for some time. Ask anyone who walks through the city centre and they will tell you they do so either with their heads down or looking over their shoulder. Those who live in the inner city could write the book on just how unsafe our streets have become. The everyday climate of danger has taken root, not least because of the lack of Garda presence on the ground.

Over the past two weeks, we have had serious incidents that have added to people's feeling of danger and fear. The horrific knife attacks in Stoneybatter last Sunday week in which three people were injured left the community reeling. Then on Saturday a man was fatally stabbed on South Anne Street in the aftermath of a public order incident. Adding to public concern is that those arrested for these attacks had been on bail for other serious offences. The man arrested for the attacks in Stoneybatter was facing charges in relation to a drug seizure, while two of the men arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing on Saturday have been on bail for other serious offences.

This is not the first time this issue has arisen. I am sure the Taoiseach is aware of a number of high-profile, serious cases where the perpetrators had been on bail for other offences. People are now asking why it is that so many serious crimes are being committed by people who have been released on bail. They are asking whether our bail laws are adequate and properly enforced. People are also asking how individuals who have been involved with serious crime in other countries are able to be here in Ireland. There is a real sense that public safety and the right of every person to go about their lives without fear have been undermined by neglect and the failure of Government to respond to the reality on the ground. Knife crime and the carrying of knives now present a clear and present danger to the public.

While the Minister for Justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, has stated that parts of Dublin are unsafe, he has failed to specify which parts. The reality is that we have had years of failure and of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil policies on crime prevention, community safety and rehabilitation.

Ní mór don Rialtas plean a leagan amach chun Baile Átha Cliath a dhéanamh níos sábháilte do gach duine a bhfuil cónaí orthu sa chathair, a bhíonn ag obair anseo nó a thagann ar cuairt. We need more gardaí on our streets and more investment in community, youth services, youth diversion programmes, rehabilitation and in our probation services. We need to reform our bail laws urgently. We need a response to knife crime and the carrying of knives, which is now endemic. The price of Government failure in all of these areas has been high, too high for too many. What is the Government's response to this lack of safety? What will be done to make Dublin, in particular, safe again?

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