James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour and a number of priority actions are contained in the Programme for Government and Justice Plan 2023 to reduce instances of such behaviour and help people to be safe and feel safe in their local communities.

A number of actions have been proposed and are being implemented by Government. These include:

• Giving An Garda Síochána the tools and technology to fight crime in a digital era by rolling out improved CCTV and body worn cameras.
• Enacting strong new legislation to the illegal use of scramblers.
• Giving local people and local representatives a real say in how to make their communities safer through the new Community Safety Partnerships.
• Using community sanctions to address criminality, reduce reoffending and provide protection to the public.
• Enacting new legislation to criminalise the grooming of children to commit criminal offences.
• Supporting communities through the Greentown project to break the link between the gangs and the vulnerable children they try to recruit.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Forum, which I chair, is examining a broad range of issues, with a focus on developing measures which will address the factors which give rise to anti-social behaviour and its impact on community morale and quality of life. The causes of anti-social behaviour are multi-faceted, including addiction, unemployment, social and economic issues.

Members of the Forum are drawn from a number of State agencies, including An Garda Síochána, the Probation Service and key Government Departments, as well as a broad representation of community, business, academic and other experts.

Three subgroups of the Forum have been established to consider the specific issues of knife crime, the misuse of scramblers and quadbikes, and responses to Anti-Social Behaviour impacts on housing complexes managed by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). Similar sub-groups can be established to examine other issues as required.

As stated in Justice Plan 2023, the Anti-Social Behaviour Forum will also carry out a review of the powers available to An Garda Síochána in relation to public order and anti-social behaviour, to include the effectiveness of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders. This work is ongoing and I will provide an update on progress in due course.

The forum met most recently on Tuesday 27 June 2023. The Department of Transport gave a presentation on their initiatives to combat anti-social behaviour on public transport with valuable input from representatives of the National Transport Authority and Dublin Bus. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that moving forward, the Department of Transport will now sit as a member of the forum for future meetings.