Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I commend the front-line personnel, particularly those from Dublin, on their bravery. I commend the personnel in An Garda and Dublin Fire Brigade and the hospital staff on their actions last year and in previous years. I congratulate all those who were involved in community festivals and the like last year. Annually, a crisis seems to be caused by a shortfall in the Garda Síochána budget. This year, the Commissioner has announced that there is an overtime ban in place. This will obviously affect the deployment of gardaí around the Hallowe'en period. It is bizarre that at Hallowe'en, the busiest time of the year for An Garda, personnel are expected to operate with reduced numbers. If the ban is not reversed, there will be 50% fewer gardaí on duty this year to give support to Dublin City Council. Council staff will come under attack when removing illegal bonfire material from public parks, back gardens and derelict sites. There will be 50% fewer gardaí on the streets to stop the attacks on Dublin Fire Brigade personnel when they seek to put out bonfires and the like. There will be 50% fewer gardaí to prevent criminal and anti-social behaviour during what is supposed to be a joyous occasion. I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, to release the funding required so that people throughout Ireland, not only in Dublin, will be safe in their homes and neighbourhoods this Hallowe'en night and in the run-up to the festival.

I will give the Minister of State an illustration of the scale of the problem in Dublin City Council and the problem facing Garda Síochána management, using an example from my area, Dublin South-Central. Some 175 tonnes of bonfire material was removed from premises in my area, at a cost of €43,000, not including the cost of the clean-up. Hundreds of tonnes in addition were removed across the city. Some 3,500 pallets were removed in my area alone. They were stockpiled dangerously in flat complexes, at the rear of shops, on derelict sites, at houses and in garages. They were a threat to residents. I appeal to the Minister of State to address the shortfall in the Garda budget and to appeal to the Commissioner to lift the overtime ban for the duration of the Hallowe'en festival period.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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I received an email from the Dublin South-Central Forum, which was concerned not about the fact that the Commissioner has control over overtime funding but that there would not be enough gardaí on the streets in the next week or so over the Hallowe'en period. It is crucial to residents and Dublin City Council officials and staff, including those in the parks, to have the support of gardaí, especially between 6.30 and 10.30 on Hallowe'en night. In most areas of Dublin South-Central festivities proceed satisfactorily, but there are pockets of anti-social and crime related activity. Such activity was evident last year, causing major problems in the area. There was great concern. Residents' associations and others, along with Dublin City Council, had to try to deal with the matter with the Garda.

It is very important to indicate to the Commissioner that where the council indicates there are problems, gardaí should be doing overtime on the evening in question to control any serious activity. Is there a cut? Will gardaí be deployed? Will there be more gardaí on the streets on Hallowe'en night?

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, who cannot be here this afternoon, I thank both Deputies sincerely for raising this important issue. I join Deputy Ó Snodaigh in recognising the work of front-line personnel at this time and throughout the year, in addition to the community personnel, who do such good work. The Deputy is correct in what he says.

As the Deputies will be aware, the allocation of all Garda resources, including personnel, is solely a matter for the Garda Commissioner and his management team. The Minister has no direct role in this regard. However, I can assure the Deputies that An Garda Síochána continues to take all forms of anti-social behaviour very seriously.

An Garda Síochána has put in place measures in every division to prevent and detect the sale and organised importation of fireworks in the lead-up to Hallowe'en. Operation Tombola is designed to address all aspects of the policing of the Hallowe'en period, including the prevention and detection of illegal fireworks for sale and associated public disorder and anti-social behaviour. Specific policing plans under Operation Tombola are designed and determined by local district officers in advance of and during Hallowe'en night. These plans address issues of anti-social behaviour that may arise through the incremental deployment of resources, including public order unit personnel, to augment local plans where required.

Gardaí have developed a partnership approach to problem solving with the community and agencies. Intelligence is collated and appropriate actions are taken to make any necessary seizures. Local intelligence is acted upon through searches under warrant where appropriate, with liaison maintained with local authorities to ensure the removal of bonfire material. Immigration officers at ports work closely with customs staff at points of entry to the State in the run-up to Hallowe'en, including to search for illegal fireworks being brought into the country.

Liaison is also maintained with Dublin Fire Brigade in the run-up to and including Hallowe'en night. Routine patrols by plain-clothes patrols and high-visibility uniform personnel are also carried out to combat the sale of illegal fireworks and prevent or mitigate against public disorder and other anti-social behaviours. Garda personnel are briefed on and watch out for the use of fireworks, with checkpoints mounted on principal roads to search for any illegal fireworks being transported into this jurisdiction.

Leading up to Hallowe'en every year, special efforts are made by An Garda Síochána to combat the illegal importation, sale and use of fireworks. I remind Deputies that each year as Hallowe'en approaches, my Department runs an advertising campaign highlighting both the public safety aspects of using fireworks, in addition to the illegality. The campaign will be launched this Monday, 21 October 2019, and will commence in print and online media.

The Commissioner is, by law, responsible for managing this budget. I am aware of his recent direction regarding measures to address budgetary pressure, including a halt to certain discretionary spending, including on overtime for administrative duties. The overtime budget cannot be considered in isolation, however. As part of the Government's plan to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021, there is ongoing and increased recruitment of new gardaí in addition to Garda staff, allowing for redeployment of gardaí to operational duties at the front line. There are currently more than 14,200 gardaí nationwide, supported by more than 2,700 Garda staff, and these numbers are increasing. This ongoing recruitment will provide the Commissioner with resources to deploy increasing numbers of gardaí to deliver a visible, effective and responsive policing service to communities across all Garda divisions. This ongoing investment is with a view to providing the best possible policing service to all our communities, rural and urban.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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In all that, I did not hear that the overtime ban was being lifted. I heard it is a matter for the Commissioner. He is trying to save €6.5 million with the overtime ban, yet he had to spend in excess of €13 million on security for the US President, Mr. Donald Trump, and the US Vice President, Mr. Pence. That would go a long way towards addressing the shortfall and the dangers posed by overtime ban, especially in the period in question. There are successful festivals in local areas, such as the Liberties, Markievicz Park and California Hills Park, Ballyfermot, and at Clogher Road sports centre. There are quite successful diversionary projects but we are talking about very dangerous elements who cause major damage to public properties. I ask the Minister of State to consider the consequences for the affected communities, at the time and afterwards. Can a supplementary budget be considered to address the shortfall in the Garda Síochána Vote to ensure that all communities, not only in Dublin but also throughout the rest of the State, will have the required level of policing so there will be no major damage done or loss of life as a consequence of an overtime ban?

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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I agree with Deputy Ó Snodaigh. The Minister of State, in his reply, made no reference to requesting the Commissioner to work with his superintendents to find out the areas that could have problems. There was no reference to identifying where the problems were last year, particularly considering there were crime related groups involved in the anti-social behaviour. They nearly started a turf war last year in parts of Dublin South-Central.

I understand that there will be a meeting of superintendents tomorrow morning. It is their routine Friday meeting. Perhaps they could be asked to consider these areas and approach the Commissioner to say that additional resources are needed. We cannot have 50% fewer gardaí than last year in areas where there are serious problems. It was difficult enough to deal with them last year.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I again thank the Deputies for raising this very important matter, and I mean that. Working with communities to tackle public disorder and reduce anti-social behaviour is a key priority for the Garda.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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The Garda cannot get the extra resources for that work.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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This approach includes a strong focus on quality-of-life issues and collaboration with local authorities to help address the causes of antisocial behaviour. I agree that Garda visibility in our communities is important, especially during the Hallowe'en period. The Government remains committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. The Garda Commissioner makes the decisions on the ground, though. The Garda's new operating model is structured to achieve these goals. It will mean increased numbers of gardaí working on the front line and community policing teams dedicated to working with communities to identify and tackle problem crimes in their areas. These changes will see the delivery of a more responsive, more efficient and better service to local communities.

The Government is making an unprecedented investment in the Garda. The allocation for 2020 is increasing by €122 million to an unprecedented €1.88 billion. The capital allocation in the Garda Vote is also increasing by 26% to a total of €116.5 million. Some €95 million was provided for Garda overtime in 2019. This level of overtime is being maintained for 2020. The ongoing recruitment and increasing size of the Garda workforce is expected over time to alleviate pressure on the overtime budget. The more gardaí we have in the force and the more we can release to the front line, the less pressure there will be on the overtime budget.

We will ensure that the Garda Commissioner is made aware of the Deputies' concerns. I will also speak to the Minister to ensure he is aware. I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter and for their interest in it.