John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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124. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the measures being taken to combat antisocial behaviour. [5479/22]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Government is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and ensuring that people both feel safe and are safe in their communities.

In line with a commitment in the Programme for Government, I have established an Expert Forum on Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB). The Forum is examining a broad range of issues with a focus on developing measures which will counteract the negative impact of ASB on community morale and quality of life. This has included two subgroups established to consider the specific issues of knife crime and the misuse of scramblers and quadbikes. Other subgroups may be established to tackle additional specific issues as required.

Arising from the work of the subgroup on the misuse of scramblers and quadbikes, funding of almost €200,000 is being provided to eight community-based projects to work with young people involved in the anti-social use of scramblers and quad bikes and related crime. My Department welcomes additional applications from other YDPs and is working with a number to support them in developing additional local scrambler initiatives.

The knife crime subgroup is assessing available evidence to inform policy on knife crime, with particular reference to effectiveness of proposals, to inform both legislation and community safety policies, programmes and practices. The work of this subgroup is ongoing and is expected to conclude in the coming months.

Minister McEntee and I also published the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 last year, which provides a developmental framework to support children and young people subject to multiple disadvantage and guide them away from involvement in anti-social or criminal behaviours.

The immediate priority within the Strategy is to enhance engagement with children and young people who are most at risk of involvement in criminal activity, principally by strengthening the services available through the existing network of 105 YDPs. In Budget 2022, an additional €6.7 million was provided to kick-start this process.

The new Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill will provide for a key principle from the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland - that preventing crime and harm and making our communities safer does not rest with An Garda Síochána alone. The Bill will help to achieve this by establishing innovative Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSPs). The Partnerships will develop local safety plans, tailored to the priorities and needs identified by communities themselves, which are likely to include measures to address issues such as ASB.

LCSPs will replace and build upon the existing Joint Policing Committees (JPCs). Membership of the Partnerships will be broader than that of the existing JPCs and will include residents, community representatives (including youth, new communities and voluntary sector representation), business and education sector representation, relevant public services including the HSE, Tusla, An Garda Síochána and local authorities as well as local councillors.

The factors underlying the incidence of crime and ASB are the subject of ongoing academic and expert research and the Department engages with the research community to monitor trends and emerging evidence.  

With regard to anti-social behaviour involving children and young people, the Department has a strategic research partnership with the University of Limerick known as the REPPP project (Research Evidence into Policy Programmes and Practice). The REPPP team is involved in the design and implementation of a number of internationally recognised cutting edge initiatives such as the Greentown initiative and the Bail Supervision Scheme. 

Although anti-social behaviour is sometimes represented as a youth-related problem, crime figures show that relevant offences occur across a wide age range, underlining the need for a considered and evidence informed approach to developing measures to counter ASB.

In line with a commitment in the Programme for Government, and the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027, work is underway to examine if further measures to divert young adults away from criminal or anti-social behaviour can be developed as an alternative to prosecution in appropriate cases. It is intended that issues will be the subject of a public consultation process later this year.

One of the further measures to be examined is that of restorative justice. These practices are used effectively in other jurisdictions to deter young people from crime as well as providing an alternative to criminal prosecution. Although there are certain restorative justice mechanisms available in this jurisdiction, it is expected that the public consultation process will include consideration of the improvement of the mechanisms currently in place and the introduction of new ones.

Justice Plan 2022 will shortly be published by Minister McEntee and I, and will continue the Department’s commitment to working with public sector colleagues, NGOs and wider society to deliver communities that are, and feel, safe for all members of society.

It is also worth noting that while my Department is the lead Government Department on policy relating to anti-social behaviour, such behaviour has many underlying factors and measures to combat it fall under a wide variety of State agencies, bodies, offices and Government Departments. It is a key issue being addressed in a range of National Strategies, including the National Drugs and Alcohol Strategy, which is led by the Department of Health, as well as Garda Policing Plans and local authority area plans. The issue will also intersect with the forthcoming Domestic Sexual and Gender Based Violence Strategy.