Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests from San Francisco. I also welcome our new colleague, Senator Bradley, a champion of people of all abilities. I look forward to working with her.

I call for a debate with the Minister for Justice on crime and antisocial behaviour in Dublin. Last week, I and some Fianna Fáil colleagues from Dublin released the results of a public sentiment survey which we undertook, to which there were more than 1,500 respondents. The findings of the survey confirmed what each of us had been hearing anecdotally in our clinics and communities from constituents, neighbours and friends. Over 70% of those who responded had witnessed antisocial behaviour, including drug dealing and drug use in public. Over 65% said they had witnessed such antisocial behaviour in the city centre, while 90% felt that this antisocial behaviour and crime in Dublin had significantly worsened in the last ten years. Almost 80% do not know their community garda, which is a sad indictment of the state of policing in Dublin. We made a number of suggestions, many of which were endorsed by respondents. Approximately 90% of people supported our call for a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week criminal District Court.

In Dublin Central we have the most amazing public amenities, including the Royal Canal, Mountjoy Square park, the Blessington Street Basin and Parnell Park. These are iconic, amazing public spaces but they are being dominated by antisocial behaviour and crime. It is utterly unacceptable. We need a debate with the Minister for Justice to address this issue for the capital.