Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 8 Oct 1998

Vol. 494 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - “Joyriding” Incidents.

Mr. Broughan

In the past few days we have witnessed the tragic deaths of two young people in Cork city. The plague of stealing cars and driving them at great speed has resurfaced in the north side of Dublin. Every night thousands of my constituents have to endure mayhem. Recently six to eight cars were used to endanger the lives of many citizens. For a long period law and order appears to have broken down completely. This is in an area where several people suffered fatalities in recent years. Less than two years ago on Raheny Road an elderly lady died as a result of an horrific accident, which was traumatic for her family and the district.

I have raised this matter frequently with the Taoiseach. While he was walking around the Great Wall of China recently my constituents were engaged in a long march with a view to solving this horrendous problem.

The Road Traffic Act, 1994, which my party was instrumental in helping to enact, allowed the Garda to stop and seize any car driven by an unauthorised driver. Why is this legislation not used, if necessary, with stingers, subsidiary vehicles and so on. If further legislation is required, that is the responsibility of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Donoghue. Stringent penalties are necessary for those who are prepared to drive a half tonne weight vehicle in a way which has no regard for human life.

I welcome the efforts being made by the local gardaí in the J and R districts of my constituency but they do not have sufficient resources. My constituency which has a population equivalent to Limerick city has only one third of the number of gardaí in that city. Will the Minister consider allocating an extra 50 officers to the Raheny and Coolock stations, specifically to help curb this problem? In recent months the Garda Commissioner has had a strong media presence. It is essential that, if he is serious about his plans for policing, he invests resources in areas which require them. Many citizens believe there is a policy of containment in certain deprived areas of this type of very ugly crime rather than it being dealt with on the public highway and preventing movement into estates where citizens are especially vulnerable. We may have to again examine the concept of a police force for Dublin.

There has been a longstanding failure on the part of the local authority in providing necessary community facilities. However, the Minister is probably aware — the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste certainly are — that the community of Darndale and Belcamp in my constituency has made an outstanding effort to get a new village centre at a cost of £5 million. We are £700,000 short of the amount required and despite repeated requests to the Taoiseach and the Minister, and despite a budget surplus of £100 million this year, it does not seem that the Government will make up the shortfall. The relevance of this is that one of the central areas on the north side where the mayhem is happening is the site of the current very debilitated and poorly presented shopping centre area in the Darndale-Belcamp parish.

I again ask the Minister to convey to the Taoiseach the urgent necessity for him, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Deputy McDaid, and the agencies involved to try to put into the area the necessary resources for youth and recreation.

Unfortunately, years ago Dublin Corporation in the many areas to which I have referred did not put in a proper system of security for residents or youth and other facilities. In recent years there has been some improvement in this regard, but we still need much more autonomy and local empowerment.

I represent up to 60,000 very angry people in five or six parishes from Coolock to Raheny and Kilbarrack who are outraged that this dastardly crime has returned to haunt them. They are particularly worried that in the weeks leading up to Halloween, which is sometimes an occasion for this type of mayhem, "joyriding" will again destroy their lives and perhaps remove somebody completely from the family circle. I ask the Minister to take whatever urgent action is necessary to address the problem.

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and for giving me the opportunity to set out the Garda response to the anti-social criminal activity known as "joyriding" in north-side Dublin and throughout the State. Despite improvements in the overall crime situation, the problem of "joyriding" is still a serious one in some communities. It is one manifestation of the disorderly and criminal tendencies of a small minority of young people, most of whom come from backgrounds where disadvantage of various kinds is a factor. Disadvantage is not an excuse but it points to the need for a broad based inter-agency approach to the problem involving the Garda, local authorities, State services and local community groups. So far as the Garda Síochána is concerned I have been assured that the commissioner is determined to continue to tackle the problem.

I assure the House that gardaí have the power and resources to deal with the problem and that I will continue to support the commissioner's campaign against so-called joyriding. I have been informed by the Garda authorities that higher visibility patrols using four-wheel drive vehicles are in operation and regular checkpoints are carried out. I am also informed that the Garda air support unit has been used successfully on a number of occasions to detect and apprehend offenders. Gardaí also have the vehicle stopping device known as the stinger, although it is not automatically used in every case of "joyriding". The safety of the general public is the primary concern and an assessment must be made in each instance by a senior ranking garda as to whether it is safe to use the stinger in terms of not endangering innocent parties. In addition, under section 41 of the Road Traffic Act, 1994, gardaí have the power to stop and seize vehicles they believe to be driven by drivers who, by reason of their age, are ineligible to hold a driving licence or insurance.

In their ongoing campaign against "joyriding", the Garda Síochána is deeply conscious of the need to secure the support of the public in the worst affected areas. This is why as well as apprehending offenders gardaí are and will continue to meet with community groups who are angered by the activities of unruly criminal elements. I support and fund programmes which are community based and which are designed to draw young people away from crime, including "joyriding". Two such schemes are the juvenile diversion project for Priorswood/Darndale and the working to enhance Blanchardstown project on Dublin's north side. Through the combined efforts of local agencies, these projects aim at identifying the young people at risk and assessing intervention programmes to service their needs; promoting productive and creative use of the target groups leisure time with a view to enabling their integration into main stream youth activity groups and liaising closely with parents, schools, other agencies and the community in general. The programmes are aimed predominantly at young people and involve various activities, sporting and otherwise, counselling, informal group work, education, group family and after care programmes; anti-vandalism / pro-environment programmes and other activities deemed appropriate. My Department continues to support and fund such schemes. The aim of these projects is to prevent crime and to direct young people from becoming involved in criminal and anti-social behaviour and to improve the quality of life for young people.

Incidents of "joyriding" as outlined by the Deputy will continue because, despite the efforts of the Garda, parents and community groups, there are still young people who act irresponsibly and steal cars with the added risk to themselves and the general public.

With regard to the particular areas referred to by the Deputy, I have been informed by the Garda authorities that they have introduced special patrols in several areas of north-side Dublin and have prepared suitable plans aimed at reversing the rise in the unauthorised taking of vehicles. In addition, a number of gardaí have received instruction in the use and operation of the stinger stopping device to which I referred earlier and which has been used as deemed appropriate. I have also been informed by the Garda authorities that gardaí have met Dublin Corporation with a view to introducing additional vehicle restriction measures in the Darndale area.

Finally, I assure the House that the Garda will not let up in its continuing campaign against "joyriding" and will continue to work with local communities, local authorities and State services so that all possible steps are taken to deter so-called joyriding.