Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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17. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to tackle anti-social behaviour in Irish cities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52459/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I would like to say at the outset that this Government is aware of the damaging affect anti-social behaviour can have on a community and as such remains very committed to tackling it. Some of the incidents we have seen recently are totally unacceptable and I am committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána have the resources to ensure people and communities are safe and feel safe.

I can inform the Deputy that there are a number of measures are currently in place to tackle anti-social behaviour both in cities and in rural areas. The Expert Anti-Social Behaviour Forum, which is chaired by Minister of State Brown, was set up to examine the broad range of issues which lead to anti-social behaviour, and to develop measures to counteract its negative impact on life in a community.

Within this forum, two subgroups were set up to counteract knife crime and the misuse of scramblers and quad bikes. 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.

The government is rolling out a number of policy and legislative initiates which will reduce the level of anti-social behaviour. These include:

- Providing the Gardaí with new powers to seize and stop the illegal use of scrambler bikes

- Introducing legislation to provide for body worn cameras for Gardaí and community CCTV schemes

- Rolling out the Community Safety Innovation fund to drive the development of community safety projects at a local level

- Examining the use of anti-social behaviour orders to ensure they are as effective as possible.

- Introducing legislation to criminalise the grooming of children

There are also a number of Garda operations active in cities across the country. In Dublin, Operation Citizen was commenced to reassure the citizens, visitors and businesses of Dublin City Centre that is a safe place to visit, socialise in and do business in. Operation Citizen was commenced in October 2021 and delivers a high-visibility police presence to Dublin City, while also focusing on collaborative community and stakeholder engagement.

Operation Citizen is supported by other Garda Operations such as Operation Saul and Operation Spire. Operation Saul focuses on tackling anti-social behaviour on public transport networks in the Dublin Metropolitan Region. Operation Spire was initiated to combat all anti-social behaviour, particularly the supply of drugs in the O'Connell Street area.

Operation Tara is an enhanced nationwide anti-drugs strategy that is in effect in cities across the country. The focus of Operation Tara is to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute drug trafficking networks at all levels, international, national and local, involved in the importation, distribution, cultivation, production, local sale and supply of controlled drugs. Under Operation Tara, Gardaí seized Cocaine and Cannabis with a value of €220,000 in Cork City in July 2022. Other recent successes include the seizure of €348,000 worth of drugs in Dublin and Louth. Five people were arrested on 17 October 2022 and have been charged to appear before the Courts.

I am also aware that we need to further strengthen An Garda Síochána and ensure they have the resources, tools and technology to keep us safe. In support of this my Department committed an unprecedented €2.14 billion in Budget 2023 to An Garda Síochána.

As recognised by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, improving community safety requires a multi-sectoral approach, strong inter-agency collaboration and engagement from the community.

Local Community Safety Partnerships will play a key part in this by creating a tailor-made community safety plan with input from the local community and public services. Innovative pilot schemes have been rolled out in Waterford, North Dublin Inner City and Longford as they engage with the community to prioritise issues raised by its members.