It is irritating to again have to raise in the House the hassle caused to a large number of my constituents by the so-called crime of joyriding which should more appropriately be called "deathriding". Every night in five or six parishes in my constituency mayhem is caused by joyriders. Very often three or four stolen cars are driven in an erratic way by joyriders who endanger the lives of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. A few months ago when I was driving along Tonglegee Road one of these drivers narrowly missed my car. He was being pursued by gardaí who were trying to apprehend him. Prior to the general election there was a horrendous accident in which a senior citizen was killed.
The Government has trumpeted its policy of zero tolerance while journalists such as Tom Brady have referred to a decrease in the level of crime. However, this decrease is mainly due to the decision by the victims of joyriding and other crime not to report incidents because they are fed up. If the hundreds of citizens in the north of my constituency who have been adversely affected by joyriding in recent months reported these incidents to the Garda the crime figures would be very different. We either have zero tolerance or we do not. I have raised the matter with the Taoiseach, parts of whose constituency have also been affected by this problem.
The Garda do not have adequate resources or manpower to deal with this issue. My constituency, which has a population of approximately 80,000, is policed by 200 gardaí, less than one third the number of gardaí deployed in Limerick. New equipment and vehicles have enabled gardaí to carry out some outstanding work in recent times. However, complaints have been made about the delay in responding to joyriding incidents. In some cases it can take up to 30 or 40 minutes before an attempt is made to apprehend the drivers of these cars. Sometimes resources are utilised in dealing with issues which are not of major concern to the public. I am referring to the use of new jeeps at checkpoints set up to check car insurance and tax, while two and three joyriders are on the rampage in a nearby estate.
Various measures such as ramps were introduced in the past by Dublin Corporation but it has been very slow to take measures to deal with the renewed outbreak of this crime. Prior to 1994 we were told that when the Road Traffic Act was implemented this problem would be brought to an end. While it reduced the problem at the time, the key point is that the Garda had the power to seize stolen cars driven by an under-aged person who did not have a licence. This provision is not being adequately implemented at present.
Reference has been made to the stinger and various other measures, while the Minister has speculated about the possibility of new legislation. If new legislation is necessary my party will support it. However, serious action must be taken to deal with this problem particularly in the areas I represent.
