Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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I have been raising the situation regarding crime in Dublin for some time in this House. I think it is fair to say the situation cannot be described as being under control - in fact, it is bordering on being completely out of control. It is not Niall Collins or the Fianna Fáil Party that has been saying this - I have been echoing what people have been saying to me who were making those statements from an informed position. The situation is out of control on a number of levels. We have a gangland problem in the capital associated with serious international criminality and all that flows from it. The situation continues down through the various levels of crime to petty crime, which impacts people every day of the week.

Unfortunately, the response from the Government has been denial. We cannot keep denying that there is a problem in the capital city. Part of the denial response has included the closure of Garda stations, for example in Whitehall and Stepaside, and the downgrading of the station in Santry. That impacted on the communities in those stations' catchment areas. The Government also continued the moratorium on recruitment into An Garda Síochána, which was brought in when this country faced a precipice in late 2008, right throughout 2011, 2012 and 2013. Eventually in 2014 we had a trickle of new recruits into An Garda Síochána.

If the Garda is to get to grips with the situation, the main resource needed is manpower, which it does not have at present. There are 12,799 gardaí in the force as of 1 January this year. That is significantly below the 13,000 that is the preferred level of this Government. Any day of the week, up to 500 gardaí are out sick for various reasons, and that is a reality we have to face up to. Today, there are 1,498 members of An Garda Síochána eligible for retirement and, in addition, there are up to 230 members of the force on an incentivised career break. I know that recruitment has started but we only have 300 in training and we need to see more of that.

I have also consistently raised the need for greater use of and recruitment into the Garda Reserve force. Many people have contacted me who want to become Garda reserves. They have applied online and their applications are sitting in the Public Appointments Service bureaucracy and going nowhere. They are out there and willing to contribute to their communities.

I make these points about Dublin on an informed basis because I have engaged in a series of public meetings. I have been to Ballyfermot and was in Drumcondra two weeks ago; I am going to Tallaght tonight and to Finglas next week. I am meeting people in their communities who have felt the effects of crime. They all say they need to see more gardaí on the street. They want a better response time and to see more done about anti-social behaviour. They also want to see issues like burglaries, which are continuing to rise, addressed. At the root of a lot of the crime faced by these communities is the problem of drugs.

The Irish tourist assistance service reported recently that up to 700 tourists per annum are affected by crime. They reported crimes against their persons, mugging, pickpocketing and theft of wallets and mobile phones. That is a damning indictment because every tourist who comes to this country is taking away a story of his or her experience. As a country that relies on tourism for employment and economic activity, we have to sit up and take note of what they are saying. In particular, we have to take note of associations like the vintners associations, the restaurants associations and traders associations like We Are Dublin Town in the city centre.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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We can come back to the Deputy, he will have another two minutes.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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We have been saying for a long time that we need to have a dedicated public order unit for Dublin city centre. I am rasing this again today because the agencies out there are asking for it. I ask for the Minister of State's response on this.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality who regrets very sincerely that she cannot be present for the debate this afternoon.

The Minister wishes to thank the Deputy for raising this matter for debate today. I think everyone in the House can appreciate the particular difficulty and distress caused to people who are unfortunate enough to become victims of crime while travelling abroad. The Minister shares the common concern to ensure that visitors to this country have a positive experience and, where a crime does occur against a tourist, that we provide as much support and assistance as possible.

As the Deputy will appreciate, policing strategy in Dublin city centre and elsewhere and the deployment of relevant Garda resources is a matter for the Garda authorities. However, the Minister is committed to supporting An Garda Síochána in providing a strong, visible policing presence throughout the country, to help reduce crime, including crimes committed against tourists.

The specific policing response to the incidence of crime in Dublin city is incorporated in the ongoing implementation of the Dublin city centre policing plan. This involves a high-visibility uniformed presence on key thoroughfares, as well as the use of undercover gardaí as appropriate. Gardaí are maintaining a particular focus on drug dealing and drug related crime, to which the Deputy has referred, in the city centre area. A number of targeted city centre policing operations are in place, including Operation Pier, which concentrates on the south quays and Temple Bar areas and Operation Spire which is focused on O'Connell Street and the north inner city. There is also a specific public order unit which operates on a reactive basis as the need arises.

The Minister is very much aware of the impact of crime and related anti-social behaviour in the city centre. In December last year, she met representatives of the Dublin City Centre Business Forum to hear their concerns at first hand. Crimes against tourists are of particular concern to many businesses in the city at a time when all concerned are redoubling their efforts to encourage tourism as an important part of the process of economic recovery. It is important, therefore, that the key agencies adopt a co-ordinated, cross-cutting approach to address not just the incidence of crime in the city but also many of the wider underlying societal issues. Clearly, these issues encompass far more than policing issues, and the context for finding solutions must, therefore, encompass a co-ordinated approach. This is precisely the approach that is being pursued in a partnership between Dublin City Council, An Garda Síochána, the HSE and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. Important initiatives include a new multi-agency street outreach approach, which is being used to work with vulnerable and high-risk individuals, particularly having regard to substance abuse. An offender management programme is being piloted to address repeat offending in the Dublin city area. These measures, combined with the Government's initiatives to tackle homelessness, are helping to address the broader aspects underlining crime and anti-social behaviour in the city centre.

Unfortunately, it is a fact that in any city that attracts a large number of tourists, such as Dublin, there will from time to time be crime against tourists. For more than 20 years, the Irish Tourist Assistance Service, ITAS, has offered support and assistance to tourists who become victims of crime while visiting Ireland. ITAS is a registered charity with a voluntary board of directors representing tourism-related sectors. It is run by staff and volunteers. Since its inception in 1994, the service has assisted over 11,000 tourists. The service offers support and information to tourists in the immediate aftermath of a crime. It operates throughout Ireland and provides a helpline service offering information to tourists in the aftermath of crime. Practical assistance consists mainly of mediation and practical help to replace passports and travel documentation. The service organises money transfers when tourists have had their case or cards stolen. In an emergency, ITAS can arrange accommodation, transport and meals for stranded tourists.

The Minister would like to return to the core provision for policing and tackling crime. The budget provision for 2015 for the justice sector saw the first year-on-year budget increase since 2008, involving a total expenditure increase of €141 million, including a 68% rise in capital funding. Together with the resumption of Garda recruitment since September last year, this clearly underlines the Minister's commitment to support An Garda Síochána in tackling crime in all its forms, working in partnership with other agencies and communities.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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I would like the Minister of State to extend to the Minister for Justice and Equality an invitation from me to accompany me and representatives of the Dublin business associations to take a walk in Dublin city centre to see at first hand the issues that arise. I acknowledge that the Minister met some of the representatives but I believe that stepping on to the streets to see circumstances at first hand will go a long way towards informing everybody about the extent of the crisis.

I referred to recruitment. If we are to take anything from this debate today, it ought to be that there should be a stepping up in recruitment. Three hundred new recruits will not fill the gap but only increase the strength from 12,799 to above 13,000. Some 1,498 members of An Garda Síochána can retire today. What drives people mad is that over the years of the moratorium, which the Government presided over, recruitment to the Defence Forces continued. The Defence Forces were recruiting while there was no recruitment in An Garda Síochána. People cannot understand that and nor can I. It did not make sense.

Unfortunately in this town, much crime is linked to drugs. The Government has failed the businesses, communities and those who work in Dublin city centre by its failure to implement the national drugs strategy. There has been a huge failure on the part of the Government to live up to its responsibility. We need a dedicated Minister responsible for drugs who will prioritise in government the tackling of drug addiction and the fallout therefrom.

The increases in burglaries, pickpocketing and thefts against the person across this city and all the other crime can be linked to drugs. There are 10,000 people receiving methadone treatment in this city and not far from it. They are not receiving any rehabilitation or being put on any the avenues to get off drugs. That is a problem. They are involved in crime and repeat offending, all to feed their drug addiction. The Government needs to take seriously the lack of priority accorded to the national drugs strategy. This would tackle the root of the problem rather than trying to contain it with methadone and some of the associated treatments. The latter will not work. We have got to tackle the problem at the source.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I will ask the Minister to respond directly to the Deputy's invitation to go on a walkabout. Crime and drug dealing in the city centre have not been peculiar to the term of this Administration. The centre of our capital city is important not only to those who live there but also to the many who work, shop and enjoy their leisure time there. It is also of importance from a tourism perspective. The Minister shares the general concern that every effort be made to promote a safe and welcoming environment in the city centre. Consequently, she supports the continuing collaboration of the Garda Síochána and other State agencies, working in partnership with business and community interests to make the city centre safe and welcoming for all. The Government will continue to provide the best possible support to the Garda Commissioner to respond effectively to the range of policing challenges in Dublin city and elsewhere throughout the country.