Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, I must raise an issue I have raised continuously in the House, namely, criminality and murder on the north side of Dublin. It gives me no pleasure to have to raise it again because a young man was murdered on Sunday evening in Clonshaugh Avenue in Dublin 17. It is the fifth murder in the last seven months in this geographical location. The news cycle moves on quickly but I must reiterate the damage this type of event does to a family, community and area. Children are walking past Garda tape at the scene of the murder on their way to school. Time and again, I have called on the Minister for Justice and Equality to replicate in Dublin's north side what was done in the north inner city. When there was a spate of murders in the north inner city in February 2016, in fairness to the then Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, he responded by getting every agency, actor and stakeholder into a room, regardless of their political backgrounds, to try to find a solution. A commission was put together and a report, known as the Mulvey report, was produced. Solutions were found that were not just policing solutions.

We are asking for the same template to be applied in the geographical location of Dublin 17, Dublin 13 and parts of Dublin 5. We are asking every public representative, school and local agency, including the Northside Partnership and Preparing for Life in Darndale, to come together and come up with answers as to why this is happening in the first place and possible solutions to make it stop. There have been five murders in seven months. If any other geographical location in the country had five murders in seven months, I am quite sure the political reaction would be different. It is not good enough. Nobody in this House believes it is good that children are walking past murder scenes. One primary school on the north side had a murder take place outside its gate. There is a memorial to that individual outside the gate of the school. He was shot dead there. This is not normal and cannot be considered normal.

I am trying to be constructive and am not trying to score party political points. It was this Government under the former Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, that did the right thing in the north inner city and it is the same Government under the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, that can do the right thing in this geographical location on Dublin's north side. I cannot comprehend why it is felt that the news and politics have moved on when a young man of 22 years of age has been gunned down on Clonshaugh Avenue. It is as if it is just another news item. It is not good enough. It cannot be good enough and the Government must respond. If it did, I and every other Member of the House would support it in doing that.