66 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the great concern regarding the large number of joy-riding incidents, in particular following two deaths in Cork on 5 October; the steps, if any, he has taken to alert young persons to the great dangers associated with this activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20261/98]
Written Answers. - Joyriding Incidents.
The offence commonly referred to as joyriding is a criminal offence under section 112 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, as amended, which prohibits the taking of a vehicle without the owner's consent.
The problem of joyriding is, of course, part of the problem of urban crime and disorder, the causes of which are widely accepted as multi-factoral. Solutions can only be found by addressing a wide range of socioeconomic issues. I stress, however, that the approach to this problem in major urban areas, where there is a high density of local development and where inevitably there is a mix of a large young population, high unemployment and a serious lack of basic community facilities, cannot be approached on a purely law and order basis.
This problem is not new and has in fact diminished significantly from the high figures in the mid-1980s. However, there appeared to be an increase last year in this activity in the Cork area. The Garda is pursuing a policy to curtail this activity and evidence to date suggests that the policy is very effective.
Part of the policy involves the Garda working closely with the local community in youth diversion programmes. Since I became Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I have supported and funded these programmes, which are community based with the support of the Garda Síochána and which are designed to divert young people away from crime, including joyriding. These are 14 such schemes in existence throughout the country. Three are in the Cork area, where there is also the Cork auto diversion project which comes under the auspice of my Department's Probation and Welfare Service.