Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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209. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which anti-social behaviour has occurred in an estate (details supplied) in the past two years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27783/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that the Government is determined to tackle anti-social behaviour and its causes. A number of priority actions are contained in the Programme for Government to reduce instances of such behaviour and help people to be safe and feel safe in their local communities.

We are committed to tackling the scourge of anti-social behaviour and crime to build safer streets and stronger communities. This includes:

• Increasing penalties for knife crime and strengthening the use of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOSs)
• The deployment of body-worn cameras for Gardaí in Dublin City Centre, Waterford, and Limerick in 2024, with nationwide roll-out to follow
• The introduction of Community Safety Partnerships around the country, to develop Community Safety Plans for every area.
• Continued expansion of youth justice and youth diversion measures
• New laws to criminalise the grooming of children into a life of crime.
• Introducing Facial Recognition Technology to help investigate and prosecute cases of serious crime
• Providing the funding necessary to strengthen the equipment available to An Garda Síochána for public order policing, including the deployment of tasers and stronger incapacitant spray.
• Proposing solutions to public order and anti-social problems through the Local Leadership Programme which brings together local stakeholders in a structured manner.

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).

The Government’s new Community Safety plan is designed to address public safety issues that negatively impact communities around the country by bringing together the relevant agencies and social service providers with Gardaí and each local community.

I am establishing Local Community Safety Partnerships, which will roll out across the country later this year, and bring state agencies and service providers together with the community, focusing on the concerns prioritised by each individual community itself. Pilot partnerships have been running in Longford, Waterford and Dublin's North Inner City, and each has developed and published a local community safety plan, which are available on the local authority websites. The plans set out a number of agreed actions to be undertaken by the members of the partnerships to enhance community safety in that area.

Each newly established LCSP will be required to develop and implement its own tailored community safety plan and will take a strategic approach to their work so that issues arising can be dealt with in a coordinated manner; addressed collectively by relevant service providers in partnership with the community.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that the following incidents have been recorded for a period of two years up to 25 June 2024 in the area referred to by the Deputy;

• 1 x Assault minor
• 2 x Criminal Damage
• 5 x Drug Offences
• 3 x Public Order
• 4 x Traffic
• 30 Attention and Complaints (4 referring to youths on scrambler bike, 5 referring to fireworks in October/November, 12 referring to youths causing annoyance with no details available for the youths, 4 referring to suspicious persons/vehicles/behaviour, 1 dog complaint, 1 noise complaint, 1 driving complaint and 2 abandoned vehicles)