Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

499. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to recommendation No. 16 of the Report on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill 2024, if an analysis of the root causes and drivers of crime and anti-social behaviour has been conducted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9152/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Work on the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill 2024 is currently ongoing within my Department, with a view to seeking Government approval for publishing the Bill in the second quarter of this year. Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the draft Bill was undertaken in April 2024 by the Oireachtas Justice Committee.

The Department engages with experts and stakeholders while formulating policy and drafting legislation, including academic partners in the University of Limerick's Research Evidence into Policy, Programmes and Practice (REPPP). The REPPP project is a research collaboration between the School of Law in University of Limerick and my Department, aimed at improving the evidence base in relation to youth crime and youth justice reform in Ireland. REPPP’s research activities are informed by, and in support of, the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027.

As is the case with the drafting of any legislation or amendments to existing legislation, officials in my Department engage with relevant stakeholders to obtain their views.

More specifically, my Department commissioned and published the report "Understanding and Addressing Anti-Social Behaviour: A Rapid Evidence Review" in September 2022. The research was carried out by the Health Promotion Research Centre at the University of Galway to support the work of the Anti-Social Behaviour Forum, which included representatives from government bodies and civil society organisations.

The report identifies multiple drivers of anti-social behaviour and highlights interventions with evidence of effectiveness. It emphasises the need for a whole-of-government approach to tackling these issues, focusing on underlying social and economic factors rather than relying solely on policing which is of course the policy direction underpinning the approach to community safety in Ireland.