Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour)
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I appreciate the Minister being here in person to discuss this. I have raised issues of crime, criminality and anti-social behaviour in Dublin’s northside for at least a year. The responses from the Minister and his office have been disappointing.

There has been a shooting, a pipe bomb incident, and a shooting incident outside Donaghmede Shopping Centre. There is currently great media interest and focus on the area because of three murders in the past week. What will the Government’s response to this be? To be fair to the Government, when a similar situation arose in the north inner city, there was a very high-level response from the Government. There were high-level meetings with stakeholders in St. Lawrence O’Toole school then, and a very hands-on approach, including the commission of the Mulvey report, which is still being implemented. The discussions were not merely on a policing response but also took place with various agencies involved in youth empowerment and there were anti-poverty measures.

What is the Government’s response to this situation? Will the Minister and the Government engage a Mulvey-style report for Dublin 17 and the wider area? Is the Minister aware that a neighbouring community is due to expand its population to 50,000 and that community is campaigning for a Garda station as part of its infrastructure? Will the Minister sit down with Sphere 17 youth services and the Preparing for Life group in Darndale which are making fantastic inroads into parental empowerment in that area, with great success? There are other agencies such as RASP drugs services, Doras Buí, and Northside Partnership, all of which have things to say. I spoke to two school principals in recent days. They are worried about the long-term impact this will have on children in the immediate area if this becomes normalised. They walk past Garda tape and dead bodies, or they hear gunshots. This is not normal and it cannot be seen to be normal. We have a responsibility to the future of these children that they feel that the hand of the State is lifting them up, so that when something like this happens, the State will intervene and shoulder their cares and there is political and governmental leadership.

Will the Government please recognise that there is a problem in this area of the city which is spiralling out of control, and that it is the responsibility of the Taoiseach and the Government to show the leadership and be in these communities, talking to the people who care passionately about those communities, because we are losing the battle? Why is it that young men are only too willing to take the place of those who have just been murdered? We must change our drug policy and the policing policy on that side of the city. We need the resources but we must also talk about youth empowerment. I ask the Minister, the Taoiseach, and all others who have influence in this area to commission a Mulvey-style report for Dublin 17 and wider communities so that investment can start flowing, policing can be enhanced, and we do not see a return to the type of bloodshed we have seen over the past week.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Ó Ríordáin for raising this very important issue. I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the matter from a criminal justice perspective.

I repeat my total condemnation of the appalling violence that has been perpetrated in recent days. I have spoken to the Commissioner and I am satisfied that vigorous Garda investigations are under way. Furthermore, local patrols are being supplemented by armed support units and there is ongoing liaison and support being provided by relevant sections within other specialist divisions of An Garda Síochána. Gardaí have put specific operations in place to deal with the serious incidents that have occurred in Dublin recently, and they continue to work directly with communities to keep our citizens safe. In relation to the killing that occurred on Tuesday afternoon, an incident room has been established in Santry Garda station, and I appeal to anyone who may have any information, no matter how seemingly incidental, to come forward to An Garda Síochána. This morning, the deputy Garda commissioner for policing and security will convene a high-level meeting to discuss further policing plans to address the shootings in this area. I have requested that I be kept apprised of all developments in this matter and I will visit the area in the coming days.

On the Senator’s proposals, I emphasise that An Garda Síochána's approach and response to the presence of a relatively small number of violent criminals in some communities include a strong focus on quality of life issues and collaboration with local authorities, joint policing committees, JPCs, and local drug task forces. However, as we all acknowledge, a more sustainable, co-ordinated and comprehensive approach is needed. That was a clear message delivered to the expert members of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland and it is clear from its report that the message was understood and responded to in the recommendations. In particular, the commission examined the incidents in the north-east inner city and subsequent citizen engagement in recent years, and it looked at how that approach could be mainstreamed and embedded.

We all recognise that the reasons an individual turns toward a life of crime are complex, with a substantial, unacceptable negative impact on communities. It is an appalling vista for any community to witness violence or criminality in their midst because of the actions of a small number of people. However small, we need to do everything possible to ensure that to the greatest extent possible we divert people away from a possible life of crime. Putting in place suitable interventions to prevent this requires a joined-up approach by a number of stakeholders, including An Garda Síochána, various Departments, agencies, NGOs, families and, of course, members of the wider public. The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland recognised that reality. A very significant proportion of police time, in Ireland and in other jurisdictions, is spent on harm prevention and providing, service to citizens at risk, including those with addiction issues, and I know that the Senator has been a strong advocate for such persons in recent years.

The new model of policing put forward by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland envisages a new district approach to policing with significant community engagement, including the creation of multi-agency crisis intervention teams in all Garda divisions. These teams, and the broader concept of community safety, will be embedded in legislation in the new policing and community safety Bill which is being progressed by my Department as a matter of urgent priority. I look forward to the Senator’s, and all Senators', input into that legislation in due course. I will be very happy to engage with them and receive their observations, comments or submissions. The critical aspect of the Commission on the Future of Policing is that it has designed a model for policing excellence for the future. This is an approach that will make a real difference to communities. That is the sustainable solution for the future for all communities.

I again assure the Senator of the active Garda investigations under way and that An Garda Síochána is taking all necessary steps to bring the perpetrators of the recent shootings in Dublin to justice. The Government will continue to support the Garda through the allocation of unprecedented resources in terms of personnel, technology and everything else, so that its members can continue to carry out their duties and protect the public.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his response. Will he commit to extra Garda resources for this area and to a commission along the lines I have suggested and similar to what took place in the north inner city? The Minister touched on it in his reply but did not go as far as it. I suggest a Mulvey-style report which will deal with all the agencies which the Minister outlined. He has suggested that the Commission on the Future of Policing is the answer.I am suggesting something different. The Government is already engaged in such a process in Dublin's north inner city. I am asking the Minister to initiate that process in the Dublin 17 and wider areas. Is the Minister making more Garda resources available to this area? Along with other Ministers will he lead the process to commission a report into the need for resources and a long-term response to what has happened in the Dublin 17 area? I ask the Minister to commit to those two things on behalf of those who are suffering and feel not just uneasy but scared living in those communities.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Senator that I will continue to engage with my Government colleagues. This particular issue was raised at a recent Government meeting. I have spoken directly to the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, who like the Senator have a considerable knowledge of the area, its people and the community. I would be happy to continue to engage with other Departments to progress the type of collaborative approach the Senator has proposed, taking a note of the issues the Senator has raised.

My Department is actively working on drafting new policing legislation to ensure the broader concept of community safety will be embedded in statute. Key to this is policing in partnership with communities along with other Departments and agencies, not solely those under the remit of the Department of Justice and Equality, to provide essential services and supports to communities. I am thinking of agencies under the Departments of Health, Employment Affairs and Social Protection, and Housing, Planning and Local Government. I am anxious to have a collaborative approach across agencies, involving in particular those who provide essential services and essential supports to communities and individuals at risk. In that regard I acknowledge what the Senator has said.

As well as the Government accepting all 157 key recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland in December, I also published a four-year high-level plan, Policing Service for the Future. This sets out the approach to the implementation which will be overseen and is currently overseen by a dedicated programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach, which is a key recommendation in the commission's report.

Another key element of the implementation is to ensure that local front-line policing will be placed at the core of the police service. This brings me to the Senator's second point about garda numbers and Garda resources, the object of the exercise being that gardaí are more visible in communities and therefore more active in communities. I remain committed to achieving an increase in the overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021, which will involve 15,000 sworn Garda members. I look forward to attending the Garda College in Templemore next week where we will see a further 200 young, ambitious, energetic gardaí engaged in active duties within two weeks of their graduation. I would be happy to continue to engage with Garda management on the particular issue the Senator raised. I trust he will do so also through such bodies as the joint policing committee in the area.

I assure the Senator and all Members of this House that the State will continue to relentlessly pursue those who engage in criminality and threaten the safety of communities. The full force of the law will be brought to bear on those behind this violence and related gangland activities. I would be happy to engage further with the Senator on the specific proposal he has made this morning.