Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Have we a Minister present?

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I will take it.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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It might be appropriate that the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, is taking this because he is in charge of the national drugs strategy. The issue of drugs is an important issue throughout the country but on the north side of Dublin, it causes great heartache.

In June 2019 on a visit to political leaders in Dublin Bay North, the assistant Garda commissioner confirmed that a Garda station was to be located in the Dublin 13 or Dublin 17 area to serve the vast expanding community in Clongriffin and Belmayne. It is expected an extra 50,000 people will be inhabiting the area in the coming years. We have had several successful campaigns in that area for the establishment of a second level school. We now have an Educate Together second level school and we are happy about that.

I was involved with the local community, including the community in Clongriffin through the Clongriffin Community Association, in having a petition to ensure we would get a Garda station for the area based on community infrastructure. We were delighted when the assistant Garda commissioner announced that negotiations with the Office of Public Works, OPW, on a particular site at the corner of Northern Cross were ongoing and that a Garda station would be located on the site in the coming years.

Aligned with that, a Government commitment was made during the general election that a Mulvey-style commission would be established on the north side and in Drogheda as a reaction to a murder spree in both those geographic locations. What I was trying to do, and what Deputy Ged Nash, who was then a Senator, was trying to say at the time was that the response to drugs and gangland murder should not be one of Garda resources only but also required an in-depth discussion about education, empowerment, oral language, youth development and housing along the lines of what happened with Kieran Mulvey's commission in the north inner city. We wanted that approach to be replicated on the north side and in Drogheda. After months of making repeated calls for such a commission in the Seanad - I was a Senator at the time - the then Minister for Justice and Equality agreed the Government would do so if returned to office.

This commission is desperately needed. While I acknowledge these are difficult times and establishing a commission at this time would be problematic because of the national crisis we are in, poverty, disadvantage and drug crime still exist and people still have murder on their minds. I would like an update on that promised, pledged and proposed Garda station. At what stage is the process? When will the station be opened? When can the community of Dublin 13 and 17 be satisfied that the campaign, which they were thrilled to see reach a successful conclusion in June 2019, will result in the next stage of the process and the opening of the doors of a fully staffed and resourced Garda station in this expanding area on the north side of Dublin?

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister, I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin for raising this matter.

As the Deputy will appreciate, the Office of Public Works has responsibility for the provision and maintenance of Garda accommodation. Works in respect of Garda accommodation are progressed by the Garda authorities working in close co-operation with the OPW.

The current Garda building and refurbishment programme, which runs to 2021, is based on agreed Garda priorities and covers more than 30 locations across the country, supported by significant Exchequer funding across the Garda and OPW Votes. While a new station in Dublin 13 and 17 is not part of the current programme, I understand from An Garda Síochána that proposals for a new station will be considered as part of the next Garda accommodation programme. In the meantime, the Minister has been advised that local Garda management have a policing plan for the district in question, which incorporates a weekly Garda clinic in the area operated by the community policing unit from Coolock. This includes regular liaison meetings with residents groups to deal with policing matters.

The Deputy will also be aware that, as part of the overall strategy to oppose criminality, the Garda authorities pursue a range of partnerships with community stakeholders, for example, the community alert programme and the Garda text alert scheme. That said, the Minister is very conscious of how the impact of anti-social behaviour affects the quality of life for local communities. Crime prevention and diversion, beginning with young people, are priorities for the Minister and the programme for Government contains a number of commitments to tackle anti-social behaviour, including a commitment to set up a special expert forum on anti-social behaviour to consider the effectiveness of existing legislation and propose new ways forward. These include new powers for An Garda Síochána and additional interventions to support parenting of offenders; new legislation implementing the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, which will, among other elements, redefine policing to include prevention of harm to those who are vulnerable and mandate multi-agency collaboration in conjunction with impacted communities; and development of a youth justice strategy 2020-26, which will include consideration of the full range of issues connected to children and young people at risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system, including early intervention and preventative work.

I was a Member of the Seanad when the Deputy was a Senator and I am aware he raised this issue many times. Deputy Nash who was also a Senator at the time outlined the position regarding Drogheda. On the face of it, the north inner city initiative has been a success. I will make the Minister aware of the Deputy's comments on setting up a commission to examine these two areas of the north side, specifically in the Deputy's constituency.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response but the language in it does not give me much comfort. It states: "... I understand from An Garda Síochána that proposals for a new station will be considered as part of the next Garda accommodation programme". The assistant Garda commissioner announced in June 2019 that it would happen. I worry when I see words like "proposals" and "considered" in the Minister of State's reply. I appreciate his comments about the proposed commission for the north side and Drogheda. This issue is not about police alone. We cannot police our way out of a murder triangle, so to speak. A commitment to establish a commission was made by an outgoing Minister for Justice and Equality of a party that is still in government. As such, that should be considered and we are waiting for that to happen. The issue of whether it will happen is not up for discussion. A commitment was made in the heat of the general election campaign. That is what it took for a commitment to be made to establish a Mulvey-style commission for the north side of Dublin, and not just to discuss policing. It is all very well to talk about the policing element but there is so much more to talk about, for example, education, oral language, literacy, diet, access to employment, housing, transport, health and other issues. That is what the Mulvey commission in the north inner city was about. That commission was successful to a degree. It has successfully cut through the red tape and created immediate access for the community by allowing their concerns to go straight through to the decision-makers rather than, unfortunately, all the bureaucracy.

I need a firmer commitment on the Garda station, which was a commitment made by the assistant Garda commissioner. I also need a date for the establishment of the Mulvey-style commission on the north side and in Drogheda, to which the Minister of State's party committed in the general election. It is still in government and, indeed, still holds the Ministry for justice.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister, I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I will bring his comments on establishing a commission to look into these very difficult areas to the Minister. The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner is, by law, responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including personnel matters and the deployment of resources. As such, the Minister has no role in these matters. I am assured, however, that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities to ensure their optimum use.

I am aware of a similar situation. Commitments were made in December for a new Garda station in my area of Sligo. I was of the same opinion as the Deputy that such commitments were made and I would like to see them being delivered on. I was disappointed that the Garda Commissioner changed his mind on that. We can try to work together to get our views across. I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from in this regard.

An unprecedented level of resources has been provided by the Government to An Garda Síochána this year with an allocation of €1.88 billion. That level of funding is enabling sustained ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff. As of 30 June 2020, there were approximately 14,700 gardaí nationwide, supported by more than 3,000 Garda staff. These numbers are continuing to grow and have a positive impact at community level.

Determination of the need for a new Garda station for Dublin 13 and 17, or in any other location, will be considered by An Garda Síochána in the context of the overall accommodation requirements arising from the ongoing expansion of the Garda workforce and policing reform plan, A Policing Service for the Future, and implementation of the new Garda operating model, which will inform the overall accommodation needs of An Garda Síochána over the years 2022 to 2026.

I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin for his commitment to this. I hope that, in the future, he will have a Garda station and more Garda resources for Dublin 13 and Dublin 17. I would like to see the commitments made by the last Government honoured by the current one.