What is really causing concern is the level of gratuitous violence in the streets. One need only read the heartrending story in today's edition of the Irish Independent of the young man from Templeogue who was brutally kicked to death at the side of the street. One's heart goes out to the family left behind. Their position encapsulates what has happened in many cases in the last year or so. The Franklin family in my area are also waiting patiently at the bedside of their son who is on a life support machine after a similar incident in Cork. This is due to the breakdown in public order as well as the increased emphasis on alcohol and its relationship to crime. That is what really concerns the public – the fact that many are afraid to walk our streets. It is a shocking indictment of the system and the times that that situation obtains. The Minister has referred to the statistics which are frightening. Assaults are up 20% on last year, when they were up 18%; over two years there has been a 20% increase.