Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Gogarty for bringing forward this motion and for bringing much-needed attention to this issue. Antisocial behaviour is a real and growing concern in all communities across this country. Far too many families, residents and businesses are living in fear of some of the behaviour that they see on their doorsteps. I want to talk not so much about antisocial behaviour as a nuisance; I want to talk about crime. I recently met a group of shopkeepers from right across the city of Limerick who are concerned about a spate of shoplifting that has become endemic. There was a 180% increase in shoplifting in Limerick between 2003 and 2024, with a particular issue with repeat offenders. Some shopkeepers have said to me that shoplifting happens every 30 to an 60 minutes each day. It extends beyond mere theft. The shoplifters are often aggressive and extremely abusive. There was a recent incident in a local shop whereby a prolific shoplifter who is well known ran at a retail worker, screaming, "I will belt you with a Stanley blade."

In March 2024 in Limerick, there were 22 community gardaí, which is a whopping decrease from the 92 we had in 2008. Hallowe'en is of particular concern in that regard. It is clear that something has gone wrong and that the current systems are not working to keep our communities safe. If we are to tackle this issue, we must be clear about what is driving the crisis. Years of Government inaction has left us with hollowed out community policing, an overstretched court system and persistently underfunded youth work organisations. While additional gardaí were recently allocated to Limerick, we still have fewer gardaí than we had 17 years ago, despite a population growth of 23% in the intervening period. We need to invest and recommit ourselves to community policing. People want to see gardaí on the streets. They want to know their local community garda. They want to feel safe in their communities.

We also have issues in the context of youth work. We need a commitment from the Government in the budget to invest in and value youth work. We need targeted investment and better support to hold onto the talented staff who work each day to support the young people in our communities.

This motion also touches on the influence of social media in driving antisocial behaviour. I referenced this point during the debate on migration. We in the Labour Party are clear that it is absolutely vital we protect our children and young people with effective regulation to keep them safe online. Of course, there is no silver bullet to the problem of antisocial behaviour, but Deputy Gogarty is correct to point out the role that social media and harmful algorithms are playing in driving the disruption we see in our communities. I see, for example, young people who are going on TikTok and having things pushed on them that are inherently harmful. They are having things pushed on them that I, as somebody in his early 30s and not that old, struggle to understand. That is important. We need the Government to drive investment in digital literacy to ensure that young people and their parents become fully digitally literate. All of us, me included, were shocked when we saw the Netflix film "Adolescence", which was clever in drawing attention to this issue.

Antisocial behaviour is leaving many communities living in fear. We must be clear about what we need to do to remedy the situation. We need to invest more in youth diversion and community policing. We also must ensure, as the commitment in the programme for Government states, that we see the establishment of the public transportation police. I know the Minister of State is working on it. We in Limerick have had a spate of issues in recent months, particularly with the 303 bus in the city. Windows have been smashed. Drivers have been subjected to verbal abuse and threats. One driver was even shot at with a pellet gun. SIPTU has threatened to pull its drivers from this route a number of times. This route at one stage had a security van following the bus through a local estate. This is extremely concerning. We know that instances of attacks on transport workers have gone through the roof in recent years. I want greater urgency from the Government on this issue. People should have an assurance that their morning commute will be safe and peaceful, just as drivers and staff should be able to go to work in dignity and safety.

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