asked the Minister for Justice if he is aware of the efforts of the many small business/shop owners in Dorset Street, Dublin 1, to survive against persistent break-ins, muggings and armed robberies; and if he will agree to their request for regular Garda foot patrols and plainclothes gardaí in what is now one of the few remaining shopping/commercial streets in Dublin's north centre city.
Written Answers. - Dublin Policing.
130.
The precise arrangements for the policing of particular areas are a matter for the Garda authorities who have informed me that the Dorset Street area receives regular attention from foot and mobile patrols operated by both uniform and plain clothes units from Fitzgibbon Street and Mountjoy stations and that it also receives attention from the crime task force and other specialist units. The Garda authorities have also informed me that the local Garda officers are very much aware of the concern of the business community at the incidence of crime in the area and have had two meetings with representatives of the Dorset Street Traders' Association this month. I understand that additional plain clothes patrols have recently been introduced in the area and that arrangements are being made for lectures to the traders' association by the Garda crime prevention advisory service.