Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)

Darndale Park playground was vandalised in May and closed, needing repair, by Dublin City Council. Eco toilets were installed recently in St. Anne's Park and a week, later, on 26 October, they were set on fire. Kilmore playground was lobbied and campaigned for by the local community for years. The city council went through a big process to put the facility in, and rightly so. Last Sunday, there was an arson attack on the playground. I went there the day after the attack. The Minister of State can see how it looks now from the picture I have in my hand. The city council had to close it because it is not safe for use. That is a playground gone.

The next picture shows Howth community garden, off Tuckett's Lane at the back of Scoil Mhuire. Three days ago, an eating area was torched and vandalised and is now unusable for the community. A playground at Diamond Park in the north inner city, just off Gardiner Street, was vandalised in July and again on Hallowe'en night. There was a big fire in Sean Moore Park, near Poolbeg, in September. Bridgefoot Street Park in The Liberties was vandalised in October.

There is too much of this going on. Communities cannot wear this as a strategy. It has been raised at local level and I am raising it here because I want to know whether there is a pattern to it. There have been an awful lot of incidents across the city. The Lord Mayor, Ray McAdam, has raised this with An Garda Síochána. I raise the issue here today because I want to hear that the courts and the Department of justice are taking it seriously and dealing with it. There is a lot of this happening. If there is a pattern here, if this activity is organised, we need to get to the bottom of it, take it on and deal with it.

All communities should be able to have nice things. These communities have lobbied for these nice things. The Minister of State has a very good sense of the importance to communities, including in his own area, of playgrounds and green facilities. I raise this issue with him with a view to the Department of justice taking it seriously and working with the relevant authorities to get to the bottom of it.

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