Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for the question. We are well aware of the misery and distress the use of illegal fireworks can cause around this time of year. We also hear and see enough to know that they pose a real risk to the health and safety of young people and to the elderly and vulnerable. They also terrify family pets, service dogs and other animals.

Our Department runs an annual awareness campaign that seeks to inform and educate the public about the serious dangers associated with fireworks and the penalties people can face for selling or using them. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, was pleased to launch that campaign two weeks ago at the Dublin Fire Brigade Training Centre.

In addition to this awareness raising work in the run up to Hallowe'en, very good work is undertaken by local authorities and community groups to organise safe, fun events for children and young people in our communities around Hallowe'en. The Deputy will be familiar with the Finglas Fright Night and the Otherworld Hallowe'en Festival in Ballymun. I also very much welcome the return of the Big Scream festival in Dublin’s north inner city and the Bram Stoker festival supported by Dublin City Council.

An Garda Síochána's Operation Tombola combats the illegal importation, sale and use of fireworks through a nationwide policing plan focused on the prevention and detection of the sale of fireworks and associated public order and antisocial behaviour issues during the Hallowe'en period. The operation encompasses all aspects of the policing of the Hallowe'en period each year. It combats the importation, sale and distribution of illegal fireworks through intelligence-led operations, searches and seizures, as well as focusing on preventing associated public disorder and antisocial behaviour. Over the past decade, under Operation Tombola, the Garda has carried out 1,218 fireworks seizures.

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