Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Anti-social behaviour is eating away at the heart of some of our communities and causing misery for families trapped in certain neighbourhoods. I am thankful to the Minister for Justice and Equality for being here.

This is not an issue that the actions of a single Minister can combat sufficiently. There are a number of different dimensions to this problem. Certainly, policing is one of them, but there are also responsibilities with the housing authority. There is responsibility in terms of estates management and there is responsibility in the matter of drug abuse in some of those communities.

It is not widely understood how bad the phenomenon is in some estates in my constituency, in the Minister's constituency, in many parts of west Dublin and in many urban areas. It is corroding the fabric of community in those areas.

It is a difficult issue for policing. It is a difficult issue in which to mount effective prosecutions. I am afraid that long-term law-abiding residents in those areas think that those gangs of youths can maraud and rampage with impunity and that the State's agencies and institutions are not capable of dealing with it.

The housing authority has a comprehensive code of conduct in respect of anti-social behaviour but it does not enforce it. There is no conviction among residents that the housing authority or local authority will enforce its own code of behaviour.

As a result, the thugs target people who are vulnerable - people living alone, older people, women and sometimes immigrants. In my constituency recently on four consecutive occasions they have broken into a primary school. Their takings over the four break-ins were €8 but the damage done to the school was of an immensely greater value. They have broken into the community enterprise centre and done serious damage to some of the social enterprise units there. They have attacked the private property of some people attending meetings in the area.

It is not a very good example for those youths, who in some cases are out of control, that they can see on YouTube or on television today the reprehensible attack by thugs on the President, which is something I have never seen in my 30-plus years in politics. I have little time for the weasel words of those who send out the travelling shock troops on such occasions and then seek to hide behind their reprehensible behaviour.

We must come up with more effective ways of combatting this phenomenon. Community policing is a very important aspect of it. A careful tenanting policy is another very important factor. The local authority must be seen to act against some families. If there were evictions the word would go around, but the local authority does not push it as far as evictions, for not very good reasons. I accept that the issue is complex. The local authority says it would be stuck with a particular family and would have to find somewhere to rehouse them. The fact of the matter is that one cannot make people’s lives a misery in the fashion that is happening. If it is only one youth in a particular family then the law ought to facilitate an exclusion order such that he can be removed from enjoyment of the house. It is a very serious issue in parts of Dublin city and parts of urban Ireland. I am very pleased that the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, is present.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Rabbitte for raising this very important issue. It is critical that the matter be addressed, for the well-being of communities but also of individuals and families. The intimidation that happens has the result of causing upset to residents who are living their lives as best they can, and their lives are interrupted by such behaviour. It can also be very frightening for individual residents. Those concerns are very prominent in my work as Minister. From my role as a public representative I am aware that the issue raised by Deputy Rabbitte is one that demands ongoing attention and intervention.

In so far as the specific local circumstances to which Deputy Rabbitte referred are concerned, I will raise them with the Garda Commissioner and will revert to the Deputy when I have a detailed assessment of the particular instances he has highlighted. I would be very happy to meet with him to discuss the issues and to see what further action could be taken. I have been in contact with the Commissioner about the type of issue raised by Deputy Rabbitte. It is a key priority for the Garda to tackle anti-social behaviour and such public disorder as has been outlined, as will be evident in the policing plan for the year, which will be published shortly. I join with Deputy Rabbitte in what he said about the reprehensible attack on the President last week by anti-social elements who thought it was appropriate to do so.

I wish to mention some of the measures in place to tackle anti-social behaviour. Recruitment to the Garda Síochána has started for the first time since 2008. A further 100 recruits will begin training next week. That will give the Garda the opportunity to deploy extra staff and to examine where gardaí are posted. That is clearly a matter for the Commissioner, but I hope some of the 300 new recruits will be available to tackle such behaviour in a range of communities. The increased funding provided for Garda vehicles and for the justice budget generally is a significant background support to the police presence and to police work. I make that point in a general way.

I wish to refer to the wide range of powers that are available to the Garda at present. Deputy Rabbitte made the point that certain powers exist but he asked whether they are sufficiently used. We must ensure they are used. The Criminal Justice Act 2006 contains provisions for civil proceedings to be taken against adults or children for anti-social behaviour. The range of powers include juvenile and adult cautions, fixed charge penalty notices and the bringing of prosecutions. I will discuss again with the Commissioner whether she feels the legislation could be strengthened in any way to give the Garda more powers.

The young people whom Deputy Rabbitte described are a subset of young people. Many young people behave extremely well. Particular groups of young people are involved in anti-social behaviour. Garda youth diversion projects have been extremely successful and we will invest in them further this year. The Tallaght Youth Service operates a youth diversion programme in the Tallaght area. A total of €11 million has been invested in the programme and a further €2 million will be allocated this year, which will allow for a variety of extra places in areas that are identified as being in most need of such a programme. I have seen such programmes operate effectively, as I am sure has Deputy Rabbitte.

I would like to go into more detail on local policing and some of the action that has been taken, for example, by South Dublin County Council. New by-laws introduced in 2011 allow the Garda to remove scrambler bikes, quads and other vehicles from parks and open spaces. That is an important initiative. The joint policing committees are important in terms of the collaboration that is needed, as outlined by Deputy Rabbitte, in certain areas. From discussion with the Garda Síochána it appears that a very targeted approach is needed in particular areas where anti-social behaviour is prevalent. It is a question of ensuring that happens.

The Deputy referred to inter-agency collaboration and he also referred to housing. The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 has been enacted. In the first quarter of this year the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government will commence Part 2 of the Act. That will strengthen the powers of housing authorities to obtain court orders to exclude persons engaged in anti-social behaviour from local authority accommodation and estates. I agree with Deputy Rabbitte that such an initiative is needed in certain circumstances. A clear message must be given to families who persist in anti-social behaviour on an ongoing basis. The new housing legislation strengthens the power of local authorities to remove such families. It is the responsibility of everyone involved in local communities - the Garda, local authorities and those involved in community development - to bring instances of anti-social behaviour to the attention of housing authorities if removal is deemed to be the solution in certain circumstances. In the first quarter of this year the law will be strengthened to ensure housing authorities have greater power to do that.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for her reply. She is correct in stating that we are talking about small gangs of out-of-control youths. I look forward to the commencement of the legislation to which she referred, but it is very important that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government send a signal to local authorities that they are expected to enforce their own code. There is no point in having a considered code to deal with the phenomenon of anti-social behaviour unless it is enforced. In my experience, local authorities are not enforcing the current regulations and as a result those young gangs believe they can do what they are doing with impunity.

I have seen very sad cases. There are some people who cannot peacefully enjoy their own homes.

I know of cases where people are afraid to go out at night and where women living alone feel vulnerable and exposed. I know of circumstances where, over Christmas, a single man's residence was broken into and the few bob in savings he had in the world were stolen while he was at work at night as a night watchman. They know his movements because they had tracked them. They were ready for it, they broke in and did damage. Sometimes they engage in wanton destruction just for the sake of it.

I thank the Minister. It would be important that the Government jointly would send out the signals that she has sent out. Community policing generally works very well but where policemen or policewomen are dragged off to do other tasks, there is a gap and it always needs support and backup.

This is the first Government since the mid-1990s that has not had a Minister with responsibility for a drugs programme. I respectfully say, as someone who supports the Government, that it would be a very good idea if a Minister of State were given explicit responsibility for the drugs programme. The national drugs strategy needs the kind of political focus that a Cabinet Minister responsible for the Department of Health cannot possibly give to what is a significant issue in parts of urban Ireland. Such an appointment should be considered.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Rabbitte. I will work with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and I will send him a note on the specific issues raised by the Deputy, that the local authorities be informed of the commencement of Part 2. I will ensure that the Garda Commissioner is made aware of it because it may well have an impact on the work of local policing. If the Deputy has any particular issues that he wishes to bring to my attention, I am sure that if the information is available and if evidence can be found, there will be criminal investigation into some of the cases to which he referred.