Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I wish a speedy recovery to the garda who was injured in the line of duty last week. When such an incident happens it is a reminder of the grave dangers of the job of protecting and serving our communities and that our respect and gratitude must be extended to our Garda public servants, those men and women who put their lives on the line for us.

Just a few weeks after the school holidays began last summer and over following weeks I received shocking reports from delegations of my constituents about outrageous anti-social and criminal behaviour involving joyriding and related mayhem being inflicted on residents night after night and often all throughout the night. I was informed that up to five and six vehicles were dangerously driven around a part of one estate in Dublin Bay North and then set on fire in nightly episodes often lasting up to 6 a.m. Community leaders complained of cars being burned directly outside family homes and then being used as blockades of those homes as the lives of local children and families were put in jeopardy on a daily and nightly basis. This hugely distressing mayhem was captured on photos and videos sent to me by constituents. I immediately reported the re-emergence of this appalling behaviour to senior Garda officers and to the Deputy City Manager for housing and estate management.

Unfortunately, the initial response of An Garda Síochána and Dublin City Council in midsummer was very slow and many residents felt let down by the gardaí and local authority officials. Following urgent requests from community leaders and local community safety forums and our Dublin North Central Joint Policing Committee, a policing plan was at last put into action which resulted in a reduction in this crime by early autumn.

I have contacted local gardaí and Dublin City Council about the issue repeatedly in recent months because of grave concerns of a further upsurge in the joyriding terror in the period around Hallowe'en. I raised the matter with the previous Minister, the former Tánaiste, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, on Leaders' Questions on 26 October last. Even in recent weeks, I have received ongoing reports of cars being driven recklessly and burned out in broad daylight. On one recent Saturday afternoon, for example, a car was being joyridden disgracefully from 3 p.m. while residents allege repeated and multiple calls to An Garda Síochána did not elicit a response until approximately 9 p.m. that night. While tyres are wrecked and cars are driven on the wheel rims, it is reported that the alleged ringleaders were witnessed calmly changing a tyre to continue the mayhem for a further period of hours. I have visited the worst affected district many times and can verify that some streets and green amenity spaces have been left in a disgusting state with debris and blackened damage still clearly visible even after the removal of burned out cars.

This appalling anti-social and criminal behaviour represents just one serious aspect of a wider increase in anti-social behaviour across other districts of Dublin Bay North and, I believe, other constituencies. My office receives regular complaints of the intimidation of citizens and families, widespread vandalism of public facilities and damage to apartment blocks and housing estates. What steps is the Minister taking to bring this behaviour to an end and to reassure householders that mindless anti-social and criminal behaviour will not be tolerated by this House or the Government? What action is being taken to identify and apprehend the alleged ringleaders of joyriding and other criminal behaviour, to caution them, link them with junior liaison officers and the Garda diversion programme, which has been so successful and, if necessary, prosecute those who are most responsible? As I asked the previous Minister last October, what action is being taken to identify and prosecute adults who sell or transfer vehicles to youngsters? The Minister might remember that I brought the original legislation to cover that issue before the House myself because most of these cars are not stolen vehicles. When will the long-promised community policing teams under the national Garda model of community policing be introduced in Garda Dublin metropolitan region north?

Community policing and general Garda resources were devastated by the long years of austerity foisted on us by the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael blanket bank guarantees. In Dublin metropolitan region north, which covers Dublin Bay North and most of Dublin Fingal with a population of over 300,000 people, there were just 202 and 160 gardaí deployed in the R and J Garda districts, respectively, last year. The number of community gardaí was cut to only 40. We need urgent action to stop the resurgence of this horrible criminal behaviour and to bring peace and security to my constituents.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Broughan for raising this important public safety issue. I join him and other Members in extending my good wishes for a speedy recovery to the garda who was injured in the line of duty last week in Ballymun. Deputy Broughan will recall that I responded to his oral question on that issue on 5 December last. Today, his focus is on the impact of dangerous driving and anti-social behaviour in his constituency of Dublin Bay North. I share the Deputy's concern about joyriding and anti-social behaviour. We all want and deserve to feel safe in our communities. We want our families, friends and neighbours to feel safe. Our communities are extensions of our homes and, in that regard, joyriding and anti-social behaviour fly in the face of what we expect to experience when we are at home in our communities. The results of such behaviour can be tragic. The participants in dangerous anti-social activities can be injured, sometimes seriously and sometimes fatally. They may also inflict injuries on law-abiding citizens in communities. Innocent passers-by, including other road users and pedestrians, can, unfortunately, meet a similar fate. Families, friends, neighbours and, indeed, communities are left to pick up the pieces.

I acknowledge the work of Deputy Broughan as an active public representative in his district and ask him to appreciate that I have no direct role in the prevention of anti-social behaviour or the enforcement of road traffic legislation, which are operational matters for An Garda Síochána, in particular the Commissioner. I am informed, however, that the Garda conducts operations on an ongoing basis to target anti-social activities by young drivers. To combat this behaviour, intelligence is gathered locally and areas are targeted as appropriate. The Garda also works closely with local authorities to reduce such incidents and the opportunities for joyriding, anti-social behaviour and wider instances of public disorder. As a result of the dangerous and anti-social driving behaviour experienced in a number of areas in the Deputy's constituency, the Garda has introduced a robust policy of public order patrols at weekends. This has been particularly evident in recent weeks with a view to ensuring that there is a visible Garda presence in the communities concerned, that gardaí attending calls are safe, that offenders are identified and targeted and that anti-social behaviour is prevented. Ongoing liaison has been maintained with Dublin City Council and local Garda management has engaged continuously and directly with the communities affected and with local public representatives. As a result of this collaborative approach, the Garda reports a clear improvement in the levels of anti-social behaviour in recent weeks in the communities concerned. I commend this approach and all those involved in it.

In particular, Dublin City Council has made improvements to the railings around Darndale Park, which has contributed to a reduction in driving in the park. A number of youths involved in anti-social behaviour in the area have been identified and plans have been put in place to bring them within the case management programme, which is an effective tool to prevent future criminal behaviour. A specific policing operation was put in place in one of the areas concerned in late October. It involves a range of policing activities and the deployment of more than 25 gardaí drawn from across the district and public order units. Intensive patrolling and check points were conducted and I understand there has been an obvious improvement in the area recently albeit I would be grateful if Deputy Broughan would keep me informed of developments. The programme for Government underlines the need for close engagement between An Garda Síochána and local communities as part of the strong community policing ethos which has long been central to policing in this jurisdiction. Active engagement has proved fruitful and it is now vital that this ongoing engagement continues.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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In the reply the Minister gave me a few months ago, he stated that he was in ongoing contact with the Garda Commissioner and was committed to ensuring that the Garda had the necessary resources to deal with all types of criminality in our communities. Nevertheless, local superintendents reported at a joint policing committee for the north central region in late summer that the move towards armed specialist units had meant local units had suffered from depleted resources. That brings us back again to the need for community policing and to ensure that the necessary resources are made available. Will the Minister come out to the Dublin metropolitan region north Garda district to visit the affected areas himself and meet directly with residents and some of the excellent community development activists who work diligently on the ground to promote more peaceful, safe and respectful communities? Many of those leaders have given years of service and volunteer hours but, unfortunately, they feel let down by the Government, Garda and local authorities with regard to the current wave of anti-social and criminal behaviour.

Some residents and community activists have reported to me that when they have contacted local gardaí, they were told that the resources were not available to send a car. In one case, a constituent alleges that he was told to get in touch with a local Deputy. When one's street is being terrorised on a nightly basis, it is simply not good enough to hear such a response. People are afraid to speak out and we know that when they do, they are often targeted, intimidated and harassed. The estate most affected is supposed to have a Dublin City Council system of camera surveillance to act as a deterrent to this type of crime. Unfortunately, there have been regular disruptions. Why are these cameras not being monitored from Dublin City Council headquarters at Wood Quay or from the local civic offices for the north side on Bunratty Road to provide vital information to the Garda? Citizens have also asked whether there is a major role for plain-clothes surveillance and unmarked cars to invigilate and end this type of crime. The citizens I represent want an urgent and total end to the re-emergence of joyriding as a crime and the associated mayhem and anti-social behaviour which accompanies it. They want peace and security in our district.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I very much agree with the Deputy that local policing measures to address the issues to which he refers will undoubtedly benefit from the increased level of resources now coming on stream through the Garda recruitment programme. The Government has committed to increasing Garda numbers to 15,000 to provide the Commissioner with the capacity to address the needs of communities throughout the country. This, of course, includes the greater Dublin metropolitan area. Specific responses have been put in place by the Garda to tackle antisocial behaviour in the area to which the Deputy refers and I understand that, as a result, this past Hallowe'en was one of the quietest in recent years.

The Deputy will be aware that An Garda Síochána signalled its commitment to increasing the overall strength of the roads policing unit by 10% prior to the end of this year, and the acting Garda Commissioner recently announced that a further 10% increase is planned during the course of 2018. It is proposed to continue to increase the overall strength of the roads policing unit each subsequent year until full operational strength is restored. Along with the greater number of recruits, I should also mention the increased funding for the Garda fleet of marked and unmarked cars, many of which are evident in the Deputy's area.

The joint policing committees are working well. I am always anxious to hear from local stakeholders and from the meetings on how best we can maximise the work of local stakeholders and public representatives working with An Garda Síochána in communities. Road safety is a shared responsibility for all road users, not just An Garda Síochána, the RSA and other State bodies. I urge anybody affected by, or with information about, these types of anti-social behaviour to contact his or her local Garda station. The Garda confidential telephone line is 1800-666-111. It is a monitored free telephone line that allows members of the public to contact the Garda with information of a confidential nature. People can also contact Crimestoppers at 1800-25-00-25.

With regard to Garda resources, we are on target to have 13,500 gardaí by the end of this year and a total of 21,000 by 2021. I am keen to accelerate the process of civilianisation in order that gardaí can go out on the streets to do the work they are trained to do. There was also a reference to CCTV. There is grant aid available to local community groups. I will be happy to speak to the Deputy on these issues.