John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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300. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the specific actions he and An Garda Síochána are taking to deal with public order offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage in many of Dublin's suburbs; his plans to introduce Garda public order units; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37489/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, the allocation of all Garda resources, including personnel, is solely a matter for the Garda Commissioner and his management team and I have no direct role in this regard. However, I can assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána continue to take all forms of anti-social and drug-related behaviour very seriously. An Garda Síochána continue to monitor all new and emerging crime trends in our communities and deploy Garda resources accordingly to address any problems that arise.

Working with communities to tackle public disorder and reduce anti-social behaviour remains a key priority for An Garda Síochána. This approach includes a strong focus on quality of life issues and collaboration with local authorities to help address the causes of anti-social behaviour. I might add that there is a range of strong legislative provisions available to An Garda Síochána to combat anti-social behaviour, including provisions under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Acts, the Criminal Damage Act and the Intoxicating Liquor Acts. There are also the incremental provisions contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2006 which provide, in Part 11, for warnings and civil proceedings in relation to anti-social behaviour by adults and, in Part 13 of the Act, for warnings, good behaviour contracts and civil proceedings in relation to anti-social behaviour by children.

Anti-social behaviour has no place in a civilised society. For its part, the Government remains committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána have all the necessary resources to tackle all forms of criminality in our communities. In this context, the Deputy will be aware that a very substantial budget of €1.65 billion has been allocated to the Garda Vote for 2018 and close to €100 million has been provided for Garda overtime for 2018, which inter alia supports Garda activity to tackle these types of problems.

While An Garda Síochána will continue to tackle these problems head-on, they cannot eradicate the problem of anti-social behaviour alone. Specifically in relation to young offenders, it is also up to us as adults, particularly the parents and guardians of our young, to ensure that children are raised to be respectful and law-abiding. These lessons begin in the home, are further reinforced in our schools and then by wider society in general. We must all work together to ensure that such behaviour is never normalised and is tackled immediately.

Clearly, Garda visibility is very important and this Government remains committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and to deter crime. An Garda Síochána is currently undertaking a programme of accelerated recruitment, as part of the Government’s commitment to a strengthened service through the Five Year High Level Reform and Workforce Plan, which will see an overall workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021, including 15,000 Garda members. Since 2014, approximately 2,200 new members have attested and been assigned to duties in communities throughout the country. By the end of this year it is expected Garda numbers will have increased to approximately 14,000 for the first time since 2011.