Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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This is my fifth, potentially sixth, time having a Topical issue during this Dáil year on the matter of crime in and around the constituency of Dublin Central. On none of those occasions has a Minister with responsibility for justice been here. While I appreciate that cannot always be the case, I would have expected that it would have happened on at least one of those occasions.

I frequently raise the issue of antisocial behaviour in my own area in Dublin Central not because I want to talk the area down, not because I do not have pride in the area, and not because I do not see all the other wonderful aspects of the community that I live in and am proud to represent, but because very frequently there is an issue of antisocial behaviour. Such is the nature of the city centre in most capital cities. Whenever I am canvassing, knocking on doors and going to public meetings, as an opposition TD, I am consistently asked what I am doing to combat antisocial behaviour in the city centre. I am massively frustrated that consistently I have to come into the Dáil, raise an issue, receive a written response but then not see any follow-up action. In opposition I do not have allocation of budget or responsibility for policy.

There is huge frustration because throughout the central parts of Dublin - I am sure the southside is the same - we do not feel we have the right level of Garda response time when it comes to issues of criminality. I raise Dublin 7 specifically today because previously I have mentioned other parts of the constituency. Dublin 7 is an old and incredibly beautiful part of Dublin with a huge amount of history. Someone driving down Dorset Street towards Bolton Street, the gateway into the city for anybody coming from the airport, will see huge levels of dereliction that would not be tolerated anywhere else. Down any one of the lanes in the area, you can see drug dealing taking place openly, as well as poor human souls with a degree of chaos in their lives who are not receiving treatment from the State and are dealing with their trauma by self-medicating. We have been facilitating that for far too long.

In one of the great assets of the city, one of its great unknown gems, the Blessington Basin, known locally as the duck pond, once again you will see open drug dealing, antisocial behaviour and scrambler bikes coming through very frequently. The residents and business people in the area frequently send me videos of people fighting and people in various stages of intoxication. However, what they do not see with any degree of frequency is a Garda presence, which is massively frustrating.

I took a walk along Manor Place just off Stoneybatter last week and I know a number of business representatives from the area, including Ray from Slice who makes an incredible contribution to that community. Their frustrations are the exact same. They try to run their businesses and try to present the best vision they can for their customers and the people who live in the area. Too often, there is antisocial behaviour. That antisocial behaviour often begins with a form of dereliction that is allowed to occur by inaction by another part of the State, Dublin City Council, not providing rental or cleaning services, other buildings in states of decay, bins left out etc. Once those factors are present in an area, inevitably it brings in antisocial behaviour.

Once again, I am bringing to the attention of a representative of the Government that my community in Dublin Central is not happy with the standard of service we are receiving from the State when it comes to the enforcement of the law or the minimum expectations that other communities in the State would have. Too often, there is open drug dealing, open intoxication of people who themselves need assistance, or antisocial behaviour that inevitably seems to take the form of scrambler bikes with very little Garda presence. This is not a criticism of the Garda; we need more gardaí and the Garda needs to be supported by the State.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Gannon for raising this issue and I will bring his description directly to the attention of the Minister, Deputy McEntee.

It is important, as we all agree, that people feel safe and are safe in their local communities, and Dublin 7 is no exception. Community safety is not solely the responsibility of the Department of Justice or An Garda Síochána. Rather, it is a whole-of-government responsibility. On behalf of the Minister, I will outline the all-of-government approach to community safety but I will speak first to the role An Garda Síochána plays and how the Government supports it.

The Government is committed to taking action to tackle crime across our country. This includes: giving An Garda Síochána the tools and technology to fight crime in a digital era by rolling out improved CCTV and body-worn cameras, the pilot scheme for which launched on 30 May; doubling the maximum sentence for assault causing harm to ten years; and, most importantly, giving local people and local representatives a real say in how to make their communities safer through the new community safety partnerships. I am assured that the distribution of gardaí is kept under review by the Garda authorities in light of any emerging crime trends or policing needs.

An Garda Síochána maintains a proactive approach to policing the city centre in order to reduce crime and keep people safe. Members of the Garda mounted unit, dog unit, armed support unit and Dublin metropolitan region roads policing unit support Operation Citizen by way of high-visibility beats and mobile patrols, particularly at weekends and in support of organised events. However, I will draw the Minister’s attention to the Deputy’s remarks regarding the lack of visibility in Dublin 7. The Garda national public order unit is also available to support regular units and has recently been issued with larger incapacitant sprays, as well as smaller public order shields.

In addition, Operation Limmat is the Dublin metropolitan region’s public order reduction strategy. Operation Limmat promotes a pro-arrest and early-investigation approach to incidents of assault, together with driving high-visibility policing in public places to act as a deterrent to prevent and reduce assaults and public order offences in the region. Operation Irene has also commenced in the Dublin metropolitan region and runs from 1 June to 1 September 2024. This is a multiagency operation with the key objective to prevent and detect antisocial behaviour, combat underage alcohol consumption and the consumption of alcohol in public space through the enforcement of legislation regulating the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol. The aim of the operation is to enhance community safety and confidence.

Again, I reiterate that from the description the Deputy has given, it does not seem that many of these are in action on the ground. I will forward his remarks directly to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, and ask them to engage with him to make sure this is actually happening on the ground.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for that comprehensive response. I do not doubt for a second that no one has a monopoly of care for the city or that everyone wants to see it policed effectively. Nonetheless, too often we hear about initiatives such the ones laid out by the Minister of State that have a displacement effect. Very purposely, I chose Dublin 7 with that in mind. Greater attention has rightfully been given to the city centre. While I question how effective that has been, there has been a bigger Garda presence in the more commercial city centre areas. At the same time, that has created a displacement effect where, because it is not in the city centre, the activity has inevitably been pushed into surrounding communal areas, so it starts in the residential areas of Dublin 1 but then moves to Dublin 7. It almost has to be facilitated there because these problems are not going to go away simply with Garda intervention alone.

What we have had for over four decades is a merry-go-round of the State seeing a problem in particular areas, such as what has been happening in the city centre with the Taoiseach's new task force and the greater emphasis there, but this simply pushes antisocial behaviour into residential areas. That is a massive frustration for those of us who have to come to the House to highlight particular areas, knowing we are just going to push problems around in a carousel-like manner.

What I ask from the Government and the State is to deliver on the minimum expectations of a citizen who wishes to live or work in a particular community. We would all accept that nobody should have to walk their child to school through a plume of smoke. Nobody should have to open their door and see a person who can be intimidating engaging in the sale of drugs, or some unfortunate soul who has succumbed to that lying on the ground. There are a multitude of different interventions that could happen. Very simply, the people I represent understand that these issues are complex and they have lived with them for decades. What they cannot understand is how the same issues keep repeating over and over again ad infinitum. It is about the minimum expectations of a citizen. I would like to see an increased Garda presence, a greater number of detoxification beds for those who need them and greater enforcement around schools and playgrounds.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I agree with the Deputy that it has to be a multiagency approach. There is a new approach to community safety policy via the local community safety partnerships, which are being piloted in three locations, including in the north inner city of Dublin. They bring together the local communities and local service providers under an independent chair to develop a specific community safety plan for that local area and, more importantly, to work in partnership. The Dublin north inner city partnership continues to work collaboratively with key stakeholder agencies to address matters as they arise. It has four proactive subgroups which are focused on specific themes impacting the community. The establishment of the Department of Justice community safety innovation fund is reinvesting funds that are seized as proceeds of crime back into the communities. The funding increased from €2 million in 2022 to €3 million last year and increased again to €3.75 million in budget 2024.

As the Deputy has acknowledged, a task force was created to make Dublin city centre a more thriving, attractive and safe cityscape. On 9 May, the Taoiseach gave priority to this high-level task force. Again, I will bring the Deputy’s opening remarks directly to the attention of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and also his concerns around displacement.