Eoghan Murphy
Question:414. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if it is illegal to beg in the vicinity of a cash machine; and the actions the Gardaí can take to deter such activity. [14693/13]
View answerTuesday, 26 March 2013
Questions (414)
Written answers
The Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 2011 provides for begging related offences and Gardaí make full use of these and other relevant provisions.
Section 2 of the Act of 2011 provides that a person who, while begging, harasses, intimidates, assaults or threatens any other person or persons, or obstructs the passage of persons or vehicles, is guilty of an offence. There is also provision contained in Section 3 (2) in relation to begging at certain locations, including at or near automated teller machines or vending machines, and members of An Garda Síochána may direct a person begging at such a location to leave the vicinity in a peaceable and orderly manner. Section 4 of the Act also gives Gardaí powers of arrest without warrant where there is reasonable grounds to believe that offences under this legislation have been committed.
In addition to these provisions, Section 247 of the Children Act, 2001 provides for an offence of causing, procuring or allowing children to beg, and Gardaí have powers of arrest under section 254 of the 2001 Act where there is reasonable grounds to suspect that such an offence has been committed or attempted.
I am informed that Gardaí in Dublin City Centre have been targeting begging at or near cash machines and vending machines such as Luas ticketing machines. High visibility foot patrols are conducted in areas of high footfall in conjunction with plain clothes operations which specifically target begging.
The Deputy will appreciate that the issue of begging is a wider societal problem which needs to be tackled through an inter-agency approach rather than depending solely on law enforcement. In this regard, a proactive strategy led by An Garda Síochána involving an inter-agency partnership approach has been developed. The objective of this initiative is to develop a long-term strategy that will address the issue holistically and not only through the Criminal Justice System.