asked the Minister for Justice the plans, if any, he has to set up a Garda task force to combat the increasing incidents of vandalism, hooliganism and attacks on persons and properties which have become a feature of life in urban societies in recent years.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Urban Crime.
13.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that crime task forces are already established in the Dublin Metropolitan Area and that the members attached to these units are actively involved in measures to combat the types of offences referred to in the question. Special measures are being taken to deal with particular offences against persons and property, such as attacks on bus crews and on buses and trains.
There are no proposals to establish task forces to deal with vandalism and attacks on persons and property in urban areas outside the DMA. The Garda authorities report that the present arrangements for deployment of Garda manpower in these areas make the best use of resources and allow for greater flexibility in providing an effective response to local crime trends. The authorities assure me, however, that the situation is kept under regular review and that special measures are taken to deal with any specific crime patterns that are seen to be emerging.
The Minister has just told us there is a special task force in Dublin. Has he any plans to set up a similar type force in Cork and other urban areas? Has he any exact information as to the annual cost to the taxpayer of repairing damage to schools, telephone kiosks and other public property as a result of vandalism? Has he any information as to the cost that has to be borne by the ratepayers in repairing their property in urban areas, in any of the cities outside Dublin and also in Dublin, as a result of vandalism?
The detailed deployment of Garda manpower is, as the Deputy knows, a matter for the Garda authorities. They review the policing needs of every area, urban and rural, and they decide on the best approach to the policing of each individual district. The Garda Commissioner believes there is a special need for crime task forces in Dublin at present to deal with the problems that exist there. These problems do not arise on quite the same scale in other urban areas such as Cork and Limerick. Of course all urban areas have their own crime problems but the problems in different places demand different approaches. The Garda authorities are in the best position to determine the most effective means of policing in different districts and that is why the responsibility for detailed deployment rests with them.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that there has been no increase in the overall level of vandalism in Cork in recent times. Two serious incidents occurred last year involving arson to schools in Farranree on Christmas Eve and damage to Ballincollig schools last April. The Deputy will be glad to hear that charges have been brought in respect of both incidents. The persons charged were youths. The involvement of young people in serious acts of vandalism is most disturbing. The Garda point to evidence of a lack of parental control in many of the vandalism cases which come to their attention. I believe there is a clear moral obligation on parents to control and supervise their children and to know their whereabouts every hour of the day. This is a role that the Garda, as protectors of public property, cannot undertake. I would like to use this opportunity to appeal to parents to exercise greater control over their children, control which will express their concern for them and their wish to steer them clear of crime.
Is the Minister aware that in the prosecution of juveniles there is no requirement on the Garda to serve a copy of the charge sheet on parents and therefore there are many parents who will not be aware that their children are being charged or appearing in court until after it has happened? While I agree with the Minister that parental responsibility is required, would he not agree that the regulations and the rules applying to juveniles should reflect that and should require that parents be informed?
In reply to the first part of Deputy Colley's question, I note what she has said with regard to the procedures that exist. I will inquire into the matter and see what we can do about it. With regard to the second part of the supplementary, I will briefly answer that by saying that recently I spent some time with men who are working in the force in a particular part of Dublin Central. Three members of the force told me that the previous night they had been stoned by a group of youngsters, none of whom they believed were over 12 years of age, within sight and sound of their parents. If the parents take upon themselves the responsibility of bringing these young children into the world surely one would expect that they would take the further rsponsibility on themselves to try to steer them clear of that sort of activity, knowing that it will probably eventually lead them — I hope I am wrong in this — into much greater difficulty in the community.
I accept in part what the Minister has said and I fully accept that the responsibility for the elimination of vandalism on our city streets cannot be put wholly on the Garda. I must ask the Minister to accept that the absence of a high degree of community policing and the absence of the man on the beat in certain city streets is an element that created the kind of environment in which vandalism can take place. The Minister must feel that he has a responsibility to look at the role the Garda must play in the elimination of vandalism. Surely we have not arrived at a stage where we are beginning to accept that there is a tolerable level of vandalism and violence against property and against the person as we seem to have done in Northern Ireland.
The Deputy is taking a long time to ask this question.
If the Deputy had been listening when I gave a very comprehensive reply to questions in this regard she would have been far more enlightened and she probably would not have said what she has said.