Máire Devine (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

To quote a wise man I know, “Inequality is our Trojan horse.”

Adolescents in our inner cities face harrowing challenges in their environments due to inequality and disadvantage brought on by neglect. The term "age-friendly cities" must be expanded to include adolescents in particular, who presently have no input into the amenities and features of their surroundings in their public realm and are often left with little to no safe activities to avoid falling into troublesome behaviour, which then forms their adulthood. Most of these kids are good. They are not all angels but who was when we were growing up? Their experience as a result of socioeconomic factors and being alienated by poverty has corrupted their childhood and we know childhood lasts a lifetime.

Many of the antisocial behaviour reports I receive in Dublin South Central concern young people in Pimlico, Weaver Square, the Liberties, and Inchicore. Last Halloween, a group of young people hoarded wooden pallets and tyres intended for a bonfire. Some burnt the pitch in Michael Mallin House, the only one we have. Some of the kids involved contacted me via social media and I engaged with them openly and honestly. They apologised for the pitch damage they had caused and said, “MIssue, we didn’t think of it as destroying community property; there is just f-all for us to do here.” They are not malicious; they look to provide for themselves as there is no community centre in the area. Donore Community Centre and Notre Dame in Paris both burnt down at the same time five years ago, but guess which one still remains closed?

There is practically nothing these kids can do to help gain perspective on how they fit into their community and therefore they feel no ownership or care for it. Their homes are literally moulding and falling down around them. When we do not look after their environment, it is a small wonder they do not feel inclined to either.

A multiagency approach is needed. Yes, we need more gardaí, visibility, accountability and responsibility but we cannot police ourselves out of this problem created by austerity and deliberate neglect of our working-class communities. An holistic approach must be taken to engage young people on terms they understand. These kids bear the brunt of inequality and our task is to level the pitch.

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