George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Gogarty for introducing this motion. The scourge of antisocial behaviour, as people who have served in politics at local and national levels know, has resulted in the ruination of communities, housing estates and neighbourhoods. That is the result of a small minority of people who are intent on creating havoc. This is a time when housing, for instance, is at a premium. This particular motion refers to young people. When they see the older generation being able to get away with what they are often getting away with, it sends out a hopelessly wrong signal. Distress is caused to neighbours and neighbourhoods. People act with impunity because the Garda appears powerless and without the resources to deal with the behaviour, particularly when it is carried out by young people. Despite the best efforts of housing officers, tenant liaison officers and other officials, local authorities are almost afraid to tackle the issue given the hoops to which they must jump to get people who are causing antisocial behaviour out of an area.

I am not talking about harmless messing, as has been alluded to. I am talking about threats, drug dens, drug parties, fighting and people who abuse those live around them. There is also abuse of gardaí and the emergency services. This has gone on for years. I have seen cases whereby housing authorities, including approved housing bodies, eventually get to a stage where they evict someone, after many years, only for the person to appeal the eviction. They have gone to court for cases where the housing authority or approved housing body has the backing and support of the Garda. I have seen judges rule in favour of the people who have been evicted on the basis that there was no evidence despite the fact that years' worth of evidence had been stockpiled and the gardaí were there to support the people who were complaining and the authorities.

I have also seen agencies that deal with homelessness put people into very nice estates and abandon them. People who suffer from addiction are put into places with no wraparound services and are offered no follow-up. They are left there to create havoc as the result of their addiction or mental health issues. There are no wraparound services or supports and the antisocial behaviour that follows is chronic and criminal.

We need to enhance greatly the powers available to local authorities. We need to support them. We need to ensure that local authorities go after people who are engaged in antisocial behaviour, especially in local authority housing estates. The private sector also has issues that we need to tackle but we need to support our local authorities and the agencies that provide housing for people and go after people who are destroying their communities.

In Wexford recently, we managed to get rid of a drug den that was the cause of antisocial behaviour on a daily basis. The parents of the children who lived in the area said that for the first time ever, those children were able to play and felt safe playing on the local green. That was the level of devastation brought to that area by a handful of people intent on ruining the lives of others. The perpetrators are often laughing at the authorities because they know it takes years and a massive build-up of evidence before they can tackle an issue. We need that to stop.

With regard to CCTV, you nearly have to give away your first-born child to get it enhanced or improved. There are something like 48 steps if you want to do so. I saw this in Wexford. This really must be tackled and we must give the powers to the people who need them.

See this speech in context