Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I welcome the motion which gives us an opportunity to speak about an issue of importance to people across the country. The amendment proposed by the Government is more of the same. The last Government concentrated on increasing the number of prison spaces and imprisoning more people. I worry about that attitude.

Senator Walsh referred to people coming across drugs for the first time in prisons. I read a report that stated that 50% of intravenous users came across drugs for the first time while in prison. I am concerned about providing more prison places. We must examine the causes of crime rather than locking people up.

This is particularly true in light of the recent review of the Whitaker report. The original report was carried out by T.K. Whitaker, a former Member of this Chamber, in 1985 to consider the reforms needed in the prison system. He was asked to review it 20 years later and produced a report last month. Unfortunately, it shows that little has changed since 1985. Prison is not the answer and should be seen as a last resort.

In modern Ireland communities are plagued by organised crime as a result of drugs and gangland killings. Many people are getting caught in the war waged across our communities. The Garda Síochána is struggling to keep up with these hoodlums. It needs our support but sending in the Army is not the answer. Providing resources to the Garda Síochána is the answer. We could help the Garda Síochána by granting more powers to the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, and widening its remit to confiscate the assets of middle ranking criminals. We could also introduce a witness protection programme so that people can testify in court safe in the knowledge that their lives or the lives of their families are not at risk.

Anti-social behaviour is a growing problem, especially for residents of new communities in peri-urban areas around Dublin. In villages such as Stamullen there is no Garda station for a population of 2,500 people. Residents rely on gardaí arriving from a neighbouring station, which can mean response times of more than one hour.

The opening hours of Garda stations in such communities is also an issue. While the opening hours might have served smaller villages and towns, increases in population of 50% within a few years mean we must examine how to redeploy gardaí. We could remove gardaí from the Border region, which now has less demand, to our growing towns and villages to address anti-social behaviour.

I also wish to see more community gardaí. This is essential to address juvenile crime in order that gardaí can get to know perpetrators at a local level. Organised crime and anti-social behaviour is growing every day. It is vital that the Government gets to grip with it.