I am grateful to have this opportunity to raise, albeit with great sadness and seriousness, this case in the House. I have tabled a question to the Minister for Justice dealing with the substance of this matter but following the events of last weekend there is now greater urgency attaching to it. I felt it was right to seek to raise the matter on the Adjournment and I am glad that I have been given the opportunity to raise it this week.
Last Sunday night Daniel Kavanagh, a 16 year old schoolboy, died following a scuffle with a gang of six or seven youths which ended tragically. People living in the Finglas area have been saddened, shocked and devastated by this loss. Huge numbers of young people along with their parents attended the funeral services on Tuesday and Wednesday. The question that was on all their lips was how had it come to this, that families cannot go about their normal business safely and a teenager with two friends cannot go and get a video on a Sunday night. Underlying this sadness there was anger at the lack of resources and the slow response in introducing legislation to provide the Garda with the tools that they need to do the job and to prevent incidents such as this occurring.
In common with other Deputies and councillors in the area I have attended the launch of an extraordinarily large number of neighbourhood watch schemes in Finglas and Ballymun during the past few months. At each of these meetings the point has been made repeatedly to the politicians, as the community strive to combat crime, that the Garda Síochána in seeking to deal with the most common problem, the gathering of youths in public places, such as street corners, garden walls, outside shops and parks, can only talk to these youths as they do not have the power to move them on or to ask them to go home. It is not an offence to drink in public. Legislation has been long promised but it is very slow in coming.
On the night in question the gang involved were at the location concerned two hours earlier. If the Garda had the power to move them on perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided. The members of the force in Finglas are outstanding and much respected in the community. However, they are faced with an impossible task due to the lack of numbers and the fact that their hands are tied behind their backs. The old powers under the law relating to breaches of the peace and loitering have been repealed and nothing has been put in their place. As a consequence, communities feel unprotected. I gave the community an undertaking before this incident occurred that I would raise the matter in the House in the next ten to 14 days to see at what stage legislation was at and when we could expect it to be introduced.
There is a great need to provide extra resources. There are six community gardaí in Finglas and they are much loved and respected but this number is inadequate in policing an area with a population of 17,000 and in maintaining a presence. We need to put gardaí on the beat and engage in community policing, in addition to giving the Garda the power to move groups of young people on before they become drunk and disorderly, to prevent trouble arising and tragedies occurring. Both sides know that the Garda have no powers. The Garda also know that if they suggest to a person that they should accompany them to the station, they are going beyond their powers.
Let me make two further points. In recent months two public houses on the outskirts of Finglas have closed, partly due to the recession and partly due to other factors. The business community is tightly knit and has invested enormously in upgarding their premises. They have proposed that a business watch programmed should be devised in the village. They intend to invest money but they need the support of the Department of Justice in making the community a safer place in which to live.
