Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
446. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice if she has discussed with the Garda Commissioner the ongoing blight of anti-social behaviour and assaults on Dublin city centre’s streets. [29486/23]
View answerI can assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour and a number of priority actions are contained in the Programme for Government and Justice Plan 2023 to reduce instances of such behaviour and help people to be safe and feel safe in their local communities. Justice Plan 2023, published earlier this year, will continue my Department’s focused commitment to working with An Garda Síochána, local communities and wider society to eliminate such behaviour and support community safety into the future.
Some of these commitments include:
- Introducing the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill which recognises that community safety is a whole of Government responsibility.
- Progressing the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill to provide for body-worn cameras for Gardaí as well as reforming the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition and CCTV to help prevent crime and prosecute those involved in criminal activity.
- The ongoing work of the Expert Forum on Anti-Social Behaviour. The Forum has established four sub-groups to date, which have examined issues such as the misuse of scramblers and knife crime.
- The pilot of the Dublin North Inner Local Community Safety Partnership, the aim of which is to ensure that local communities and service providers work together to identify the actions needed specific to their local community to ensure it is a safe place to live, work in and visit, through the development of a community safety plan.
- The establishment of the Community Safety Innovation Fund (CSIF), which had an initial allocation of €2 million under Budget 2022 that increased to €3 million in Budget 2023. The CSIF reinvests funds that are seized as the proceeds of crime back into communities.
- Funding of €150,000 from the CSIF for a Community Safety Warden scheme in the Wolfe Tone Park area of Dublin Inner City.
The Deputy will, however, appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is responsible by law for operational policing matters and that as Minister I cannot, rightly, direct the Commissioner in these independent functions. I am in regular contact with the Commissioner and am briefed on matters regarding An Garda Síochána's work.
In general terms, I can inform the Deputy that there are a number of Garda operations in place in Dublin city centre and the wider Dublin Metropolitan Region.
Since October 2021, Operation Citizen has sought to reassure the citizens, visitors and the business community in Dublin city centre that it is a safe place in which to visit, socialise, conduct business and enjoy its amenities. The aim of this operation is to deliver an enhanced high visibility policing presence in the city centre on a daily basis. This operation places a particular focus on anti-social behaviour, public order and quality of life issues, assaults and high-volume crimes, and involves increased visible policing, particularly at key locations.
The Garda authorities also launched Operation Saul to further support, enhance and strengthen the strategic and operational objectives of Operation Citizen. The aim of Operation Saul is to provide a safe environment for commuters utilising public transport services in the DMR.
In addition, Operation Irene aims to combat under-age alcohol consumption and the consumption of alcohol in public places in the DMR, in a targeted operation through the enforcement of legislation regulating the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol and other associated legislation.
The Deputy may also wish to be aware that Operation Limmat is the DMR’s assault in public and public order reduction strategy. Operation Limmat promotes a pro-arrest and early-investigation approach to incidents of assault, together with driving high-visibility policing in public places to act as a deterrent to prevent and reduce assaults and public order offences in the DMR.
The Deputy will also be aware that a new Garda Station at 13A O'Connell Street was opened in March and that this facility supports and enhances the existing policing service in Dublin city centre. The station provides a range of Garda services to the public and also acts as a base for members on a number of key Garda Operations running in the city centre, notably Operation Citizen.
