Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

The Minister made a commitment that an additional 2,000 gardaí would be provided. When will we see them, taking into account how few gardaí can be trained in Templemore at any one time? I want to see those additional 2,000 gardaí on our streets at the earliest opportunity. I want them today, if possible.

I would like the Minister to speak to the House about his suggestion in regard to a reserve Garda force. I wonder what he has in mind for it and what role its members might play. He said they would operate on the streets but I would like to know the areas in which they would operate. We need to see more plain clothes gardaí in our pubs where anti-social behaviour can occur. I know this measure is not included in the Bill under consideration but will be in the next one.

These are the kinds of measures we need. I agree with the Minister that we need a mandatory ID card scheme which would certainly be a help to publicans and off-licence owners in their efforts to ascertain a person's age. However, it would not take account of the 16 year old who asks his or her 25 year old friend or older brother to get drink for him or her at the off-licence. I do not know how the Minister would deal with this issue. All of these measures have to be taken on board.

There is a lack of community policing in our residential areas. Community gardaí are being diverted to other areas. In my constituency, Dublin West, it is a major concern that we do not have enough community gardaí, and that those we have cannot carry out their work because of pressure on Garda resources.

I also ask the Minister to discuss the provision in another Act regarding the labelling of drink in cans and bottles. This was provided but not regulated for. Is it a realistic prospect? When, for example, we see under age children walking to the nearest shrubbery to drink their cans, it is very hard to trace the drink back to the off-licences where it was bought. It would be helpful if the bags in which the drink is carried the name of the seller on them. I would greatly welcome powers being given to the local authorities, to local elected representatives, because they know what is going on in their areas and know which pubs are abusing the law.

Greater onus is being placed in the Bill on the management of pubs but perhaps the Minister should have made certain regulations, for example, obliging pubs to install CCTV. Should we be saying each pub should have a bouncer, or a number of bouncers? There are issues for which we should be regulating when we ask the manager or owner of a pub to run it properly and we should be more specific in demanding certain things which we know will contribute to the good management of the premises.

In The Irish Times yesterday reference was made to the possible closure of a number of Garda stations in Dublin. I do not know the Minister's thinking in this respect but surely such closures would result in a reduction of service to the community. Perhaps the Minister will respond.

The issue is all about tackling the level of drinking. It is a very broad area and parents, teachers, community workers and elected representatives should be getting together to address the problems. If one asks young people the reason they drink, they blame boredom. Twenty or 30 years ago young people would also have said they were bored but they did not drink to the excessive levels seen today. One of the big problems, particularly in the built-up areas of Dublin where there are very large numbers of young people, is that we do not have recreational facilities for them. This is something the Government should address because if people become involved in sport at a young age, it helps to keep many of them away from the over-drinking we see on our streets today.

Another issue involves vans which sell drink.