Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
51. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the steps she is taking in conjunction with her ministerial colleagues to address ongoing public safety deterioration in Dublin city centre; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34383/23]
View answerWhat steps is the Minister taking in conjunction with her ministerial colleagues to address the deteriorating public safety issues in the city of Dublin?
The Deputy is aware, as he has acknowledged it previously, that safety is not just a matter for the Department and members of An Garda Síochána. The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland recognised that community safety is not solely the responsibility of the Garda. Rather, it is a whole-of-government responsibility. This is key to the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill that we will debate tomorrow.
Dublin’s north inner city is one of three pilot locations for the new local community safety partnership. This will build on and replace the existing joint policing committees, bringing together gardaí, local representatives, community organisations, local authorities and other State bodies, to draft a community safety plan tailored to the community's needs. Nobody knows better than those in the local community what it is that they need to keep their community safe and what the issues and concerns are. The Dublin local community safety partnership is due to launch its plan shortly and I commend it on the work it has undertaken already. A number of strands of work are happening. These look at everything from the types of services in Dublin city centre, housing accommodation, crime and other issues.
In addition to the development of the new community safety partnerships, the Garda is working on a number of issues to give it the tools and technology to fight crime, such as improved CCTV and body-worn cameras. This legislation is progressing through the Houses. Significant resources are being invested in An Garda Síochána so that we have ongoing recruitment, which I appreciate is a challenge, as well as investment in equipment and capital. We are implementing a range of youth justice interventions, which I mentioned in response to an earlier question. This is looking at anti-social behaviour and how we can try to get to the root cause and prevent much of the behaviour from escalating.
The community safety innovation fund was established by the Government to reinvest directly back into communities money seized as proceeds of crime. With this money, Dublin City Council has provided for a new community safety warden scheme for the Wolfe Tone Park area and surrounds of the north inner city. The wardens have been hired and are undergoing training. I expect to see their presence in the capital in the next few weeks. I have also provided funding to launch a similar initiative on O'Connell Street at the weekends. A lot is happening and with the plan we will be able to work with the local community to make sure, from the perspective of all Departments, that we are working to implement their actions.
I thank the Minister for her response. I do not doubt for a second that there are plans in train and I welcome all of them. The north inner city has in the past had such local community policing partnerships. All the while, crime and anti-social behaviour continued almost separately. In Dublin city centre, for example, when a retail worker finishes work at 9 p.m. on Thursday evening, what are we going to do in the immediate sense to make that person feel safe as he or she walks along the street? How will this be done immediately? There are issues in the city that require an immediate response.
There is confusion about the wardens being able to observe crime but not act on it. Everybody in the city is observing crime and trying to contact gardaí but nothing seems to be happening. Will we have wardens who can observe but not do anything? That is not too dissimilar to the situation that exists at the minute.
With regard to working in concert with ministerial colleagues at present, what meetings has the Minister had? Last week, I posed questions to the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, who has responsibility for local authorities. I was surprised to learn that he had not yet engaged with Dublin City Council.
The role of the wardens will be to support gardaí and the community and not to arrest. Their role is to engage and observe. To say that nothing is happening is the perception or narrative that is being put out. We opened the new Garda station on O'Connell Street. This was something that we had prioritised to ensure there is visibility on our main thoroughfare. Since then there have been 417 individual proactive foot and mountain bike patrols. We have had 1,191 persons arrested, 2,366 charges and 930 summons. We have had 163 juvenile liaison officer referrals and 90 adult cautions. This is just since the new Garda station opened on O'Connell Street. This does not take into account the large amount of work that has been happening over the past two years under Operation Citizen. It does not take into account the large amount of work done through Operation Saul, which is to complement this with regard to public transport. There is also the undercover policing work that is being done with regard to drug dealing and the lower types of incidents that are happening. I cannot commend the Garda enough for the large amount of work being done but it does have to work in tandem with all of the other areas. Even though the plan has not yet been launched through the community safety partnership, there is work afoot through the local authority and others to try to address some of the issues in the city centre.
I appreciate the Garda station opening and I have welcomed it. If we were to walk along O'Connell Street and Marlborough Street this evening to get a Luas, would any one of us feel safe? I walk home through that area most evenings. There is still an issue. I have specifically asked what attempts the Minister is making in conjunction with her ministerial colleagues. How much has she engaged with Dublin City Council on addressing dereliction and street cleaning? Has she engaged with the Department of Health to ensure we can offer assistance to those people who are down laneways engaging in drug abuse? They do not want to be there. What is happening at ministerial level in terms of quick actions? I do not want to give a dystopian view of Dublin because it is an incredible place to be but we have issues that require an immediate response. I do not think the people of Dublin who engage with the city every day feel safe or see the benefits of some of the schemes the Minister has spoken about.
There is work under way. For example, Dublin City Council has given a commitment to look at the fact there is a consolidation of health services and supports, particularly for those with drug addiction problems in the city centre. It is examining what kind of impact this has on surrounding areas. We need to get this information first. Initial work was done on the time of day that street cleaning is carried out and whether there is a better time to do it. How do we make sure that our streets are clean? All of this feeds in, as does looking at where the trees on O'Connell Street block the light.
A significant amount of work is being done in assessing where there are ways in which we can make small improvements. In the context of making the much larger changes, however, one is up against issues relating to the type of housing that is central to O'Connell Street and the surrounding area, where there was a significant amount of tourism, whereas now there are people seeking international protection and people who have fled from Ukraine, with the associated impact on footfall in the city centre. There was a lot of work happening across different Departments even prior to the plan being launched and separate from the work of the Garda. Of course, it is the intention that the community safety partnership will bring all that together and make sure it is a plan that is supported by all the Departments the Deputy mentioned and that I have outlined in some of these specific areas.
