I welcome the Minister of the State to the Chamber for statements on public order and safe streets. He has ten minutes.
Public Order and Safe Streets: Statements
I thank Senators for the opportunity to address the House on this matter today. Everyone has the right to be safe and, importantly, to feel safe in our communities.
That principle is central to my Department's mission to have a safe, fair and inclusive Ireland. It is also central to our community safety policy and the provisions of new legislation, such as the policing, security and community safety Bill. It is important, however, that we do not attempt to address all of the complex underlying factors associated with crime and antisocial behaviour with a policing response alone.
Much of the daily work of the Garda, as with other police services, is concerned with non-crime-related activity and the prevention of harm to some of the most vulnerable. Garda members are not always the best placed to offer support in these incidents. They may require interventions from healthcare professionals or other specialised services.
While community policing is the foundation that allows people to go about their daily lives in safety and comfort, it is understood that police services cannot tackle all the causes of crime or antisocial behaviour alone. Improving community safety requires all sectors to work together with strong collaboration across State agencies and engagement from the community. This is the focus of the community safety policy, the aim being to use evidence-based approaches to tackle the root causes of the issues and address them locally.
As many of the Members of the House may be aware, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, launched three pilot local community safety partnerships in late 2020. They are currently running in Longford, Waterford and Dublin's north inner city. The community safety partnerships will provide a forum for State agencies and local community representatives to work together to address community concerns. I firmly believe local knowledge of the issues a community faces is vital to addressing the problems at source. No one knows the problems and understands the potential solutions better than those living and working in the local community. The partnerships will build on the past, and on the structures of joint policing committees, to develop and deliver a modern fit-for-purpose forum for the future.
As recommended by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, responsibility for community safety does not rest solely with An Garda Síochána or my Department alone. It is a whole-of-government responsibility. State services must act in harmony with one another and the community to improve safety. The partnerships will enable the community to hold these services to account. We know we will encounter challenges, particularly in these early days, and that not everything trialled in the pilot partnerships will work. As with all pilot schemes, we will learn and grow from these first lessons. The lessons will inform future partnerships and community safety plans across the State. Also, they will leave safer communities for all of us to enjoy.
I am acutely aware of the effects that crime and antisocial behaviour can have on the quality of life of all communities. An Garda Síochána will always be available to respond to local concerns, and high-visibility policing is a key to ensuring our communities feel and are safe. However, the most effective way we can improve community safety over the longer term is through the empowerment of local communities, combined with support from the State.
I have mentioned the policing, security and community safety Bill and wish to expand upon this landmark legislation. It represents an important new departure in policing, repealing and replacing the Garda Síochána Act 2005. It will support the human rights of all to be and feel safe in their communities. When enacted, the Bill will strengthen the independent, external oversight of An Garda Síochána and place the partnerships on a statutory footing, which will enable their roll-out to every local authority.
While we can all agree that An Garda Síochána's role as the national police service is vital to ensuring community safety, I want to ensure the public retains the trust and confidence in our gardaí that has been built up over the first 100 years since its establishment. Strong external oversight of the policing service will ensure this confidence is maintained.
The importance of the role of the Policing Authority has been clearly demonstrated, including through its recent inquires into the handling of 999 calls. The new policing and community safety authority established by the Bill will be empowered to engage in similar oversight and investigation, with added in-house inspection capacity. This stronger independent external oversight of An Garda Síochána, as part of a package of measures to ensure that the governance and oversight framework for policing is coherent, will support clear and effective accountability and, ultimately, better policing for our communities.
It is important to note that, generally, Ireland is a safe country. Our crime rates are comparatively low but there is always room to improve. The factors underlying the incidence of crime are the subject of ongoing academic and expert research, and my Department engages with the research community to monitor trends and emerging evidence.
The Garda Commissioner regularly monitors crime trends and puts in place operational measures, such as Operation Thor and Operation Citizen, to tackle specific issues. Operation Citizen aims to reassure the public that our capital is a safe place in which to live and work through high-visibility patrolling and community engagement. Operation Citizen achieves these aims through an increase in the patrols of the city centre, with 100 Garda members patrolling each weekend evening. The patrol increases are supported by members from the Garda public order unit and other specialist units assigned specifically to the city centre. Operation Citizen is not an isolated response; it works in tandem with several other operations ongoing in the city centre area. These include Operation Saul, which aims to provide a safe environment for commuters travelling in the Dublin metropolitan region, and Operation Spire, which tackles on-street drug dealing and antisocial behaviour on O'Connell Street.
To further support Operation Citizen, a property located at 13A Upper O'Connell Street is currently being redeveloped as a Garda station to enhance the high-visibility policing service in Dublin's city centre. The new station will have a public office for members of the public to seek support and report crimes, and to provide support to victims of crime. It will serve as hub to which on-duty gardaí can report directly without having to return to their designated station, as well as being the parade location for Operation Citizen. I am advised by the Garda Commissioner that in advance of the completion of refurbishment works for the new Garda station, a high-visibility Garda command vehicle has been placed on O'Connell Street.
The efforts of An Garda Síochána, which my Department fully supports, are having an effect. Since Operation Citizen commenced last year, more than 7,000 arrests have been made, and suspected illegal drugs valued at more than €6 million have been seized. I am pleased to note that, in October 2022, Dublin city centre was awarded purple flag status. This award, which is an international accreditation, recognises Dublin's excellence in its management of the night-time economy. Dublin is one of 40 cities throughout Europe that has attained purple flag status. Among the criteria considered in granting this award are crime rates and the willingness of persons to go into city centres after dark. I can assure the House that this is part of continuing work and ongoing engagement with stakeholders, all aimed at improving safety and the feeling of being safe.
There are also opportunities to look forward to the future and decide on the kind of society and country in which we wish to live now and in the coming decades and to leave to our children and the generations who follow them. As Minister of State at the Department of Justice, I see every day the hard work undertaken by our gardaí, the voluntary sector, community groups and dedicated civil and public servants towards that goal.
The community safety innovation fund reflects the success of An Garda Síochána and the Criminal Assets Bureau in seizing the proceeds of crime by funding projects that communities themselves know will help to improve their safety. I was delighted to secure an increase in the fund in budget 2023, from €2 million to €3 million, and I hope the fund will continue to grow over the coming years. This is just one of the supports and funding streams available from my Department.
I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive opening statement and measured approach to where we are. Evidence that is not just anecdotal, although much of it is anecdotal, shows that there is, particularly in Dublin but also in the rest of our urban centres, concern about night-time activity, public transport and safe streets. It may seem like low-level antisocial behaviour but people wandering down the street in groups are calling people names, making people feel unsafe and having digs at each other. It seems to be the behaviour of groups coming into the city centre. Particularly during Covid, there was less of the passive surveillance we expect because shops, pubs and restaurants were all closed. Groups came in and were organising fights against each other and so on. It is in this regard that we need high-profile policing.
I take the Minister of State's points on youth diversion, distracting people, the causes of poverty and the reasons people may act up, but it is important that those who want to go into the city to socialise, shop and work feel safe, that the public transport we want them to use – the DART, Luas and buses, where available – is safe and secure, and that, where incidents happen, they are dealt with immediately.
It is important that there is a response because people need to know they cannot misbehave or that there is a sanction for so doing. We sometimes see in the courts that people have hundreds of convictions, yet they are out again doing the same thing. The frustration is that a small cohort of people are continually misbehaving. If they are caught on many occasions, they are probably committing many more offences for which they are not being apprehended. In spite of being caught, they are out and about and they do not feel there is any sanction. It is frustrating for people when they see this revolving door. It is questionable whether these people ever get some form of detention. I would much prefer if they were not in detention or committing the crimes but there must be a sanction and punishment for those who are continually acting up. I refer to people who go into town to pickpocket or cause trouble for the sheer fun of it from their perspective.
I was at a civic reception last night celebrating 100 years of the Garda Síochána in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Gardaí work under exceptionally difficult circumstances. We have seen the awful incidents in Ballyfermot, Cherry Orchard and other parts of the city where gardaí put themselves on the line every time they are on a shift and they go out to investigate a call. We all acknowledge that they are under pressure and under threat. I would like to see a higher policing presence on the city streets and public transport systems. I would also like to see the perceived no-go areas being tackled. It is not sufficient to take a justice and Garda approach: local authorities, business organisations, community groups and residents association must also be involved. All of these various organisations must come together to address the problems and point out where there are issues with drug dealing or illegal dumping, for example. Streets that are clean tend to stay clean. Streets that are dirty tend to get worse because people think it is fine and that is just what people do. More of a listening approach is required from perhaps the Garda and local authorities to everyone in the community: residents associations and equally people trying to run businesses, be it pubs, restaurants, shops or offices who wonder why they are still in the city centre. There is so much good about Dublin in particular, and the same is true of all of our cities yet people feel vulnerable. I know the figures have improved hugely in terms of Covid and I do not want to over-stress the challenges but people feel a little bit vulnerable on public transport and they would like to see a bit more of a presence. When gangs appear, they should not feel that they can act up whether it is on O'Connell Street or on public transport. They generally do not tend to act up in venues because there is security there, but on the streets after events at night-time we see gangs gathering in parts not very far from here. There are groups possibly drinking outdoors calling people names as they walk past and that creates an unpleasant atmosphere. This is a capital city of between 1 million and 1.5 million people within a small catchment area. It has so much going for it.
The answer is not just to throw money at it. We need a high-profile police presence in all of these black spots so that they are dealt with and they know that it is not okay to behave in this way. We have seen documentaries about the Luas lines, where one seems to have more problems than the other, but that should be tackled. Both Luas lines should be as good as each other and as good as any other public transport system.
I appreciate that no matter how well we do, we will feel there is more to do. That is right. We are not half as bad as many other cities of a comparable size, but that is not a reason to rest on our laurels. There are people who feel unsafe walking the streets, in particular on their own. Older people, in particular women, feel vulnerable being out on their own and that should not be the case. We must all keep our wits about us, but it should be the case that we feel safe walking in many areas. There is a lot that has been done and a lot that we are doing. I welcome the additional overtime for the Garda and many of the initiatives outlined such as those on community safety policing. However, we do have a problem as people feel unsafe.
The Dublin parliamentary group of Fianna Fáil conducted a public transport survey and more than half the people said they felt unsafe at night-time on public transport. It is very important that that is not the case because we want people to use public transport. We need to be able to move people around. We also need more night-time buses; ones that are safe for people to travel on. Nitelink services generally operate from the city outwards. They must be available for people to get on in the suburbs and to get off further out in the suburbs if that is what they want to do. It would perhaps be useful for us to have a broad task force, but not to the extent that it becomes useless and is composed of 100 or 150 people. The business associations and Dublin Town are now employing community workers to police and patrol areas. They will not have a policing role but they will spot problems and they will be able to alert the Garda and local authorities. I know many people who work very hard in Dublin City Council at every level. I also know many people in the Garda Síochána who put their lives on the line every day. We must make sure that citizens, tourists, visitors and those who come to our capital city, and all cities - other Members will speak about other cities - feel safe and that they are safe.
The Minister of State outlined that more than 7,500 people have been arrested as part of Operation Citizen. That is a lot of crime. The more visibility we have the better as some people will be deterred. If we have a higher policing presence, more people will be deterred. I would prefer if nobody was arrested because nobody was committing crimes, but that is unrealistic. The sooner we get a task force going and increase the investment in policing presence, the better.
I take this opportunity to warmly welcome Gerard and Fidelma Coleman from Ballymacoda in County Cork who are in the Visitors Gallery. They are the uncle and aunt of Deputy James O'Connor. They are very welcome to Leinster House. I am sure the Deputy will show them great hospitality here in the House and that they enjoy their trip.
I thank the Minister of State very much for coming to the House today. This session on public order and safe streets has been a long time coming. As usual, it takes a viral tweet to get the Government to address something, but let us not pretend that the abysmal state of public order on the streets in many locations in the greater Dublin area is a recent development. There has been a steady decline in the standard of public order in recent years, largely linked to specific locations in and around the capital, and the people in these communities and the people who are exposed to and suffer from this behaviour are sick to the teeth of it. No one should have to live in fear in their own neighbourhoo having to stay in after dark; making sure they are not walking alone; and having to change routes because they see a gang further down the street. This is shocking stuff to have in Ireland in the current year.
There are a number of ways to tackle the issue. As always, prevention is the best medicine. Some people will point to these areas as "socially disadvantaged, and subject to historic disinvestment", but funnelling Exchequer funding into an estate does not necessarily change a problematic subculture. If the Government is serious about solving this issue, its policies must acknowledge the existence of particular generational subcultures and patterns of behaviour in these areas. Shying away from this recognition for fear of being accused of not being politically correct will result in an inability to tackle the problem in any lasting manner. I urge each and every person in communities affected by gangs and criminal violence to play their part, whatever that may be. The Government has a responsibility to act, but even with double the number of gardaí we have now, there will never be as many boots on the ground as there will be if every citizen plays their part. That will look different for everyone, but it starts with children. Parents must ensure their children are not engaging in antisocial or violent behaviour, and other adults in the community have a role to play in correcting behaviour they see, and must be encouraged and supported in this.
Communities need to come together and decide what they want to be. They need to take their streets back. What that looks like will vary. I know of some housing estates that set up night-time civilian beats to stop specific crime waves in the area. It should not have to be that way in this First World country, but it is. Members can make of that what they will.
Councils must look at the physical layout of their areas, install community lighting and ensure that common or green spaces are not inadvertently contributing to the formation of large gangs of persons engaged in antisocial behaviour.
At the end of the day, so much of this should be done by An Garda Síochána. I am sure the gardaí who are out on the beat in these areas are doing wonderful work in keeping our communities safe and secure and keeping the peace but there simply are not enough of them. This year, the force hired 94 new recruits, down 75% on last year when we had 385. The 2022 target was 800. One might see these figures and think that no one wants to be a garda anymore but that is not true. More than 11,000 people applied since the last competition was opened in April of last year. Since then, just over 20 recruits have entered the college. That disparity points to the existence of serious flaws in the Garda recruitment system. This must be examined as a matter of urgency if the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner are to have any chance of tackling the issues we are discussing here.
Covid restrictions have borne most of the blame but there are also reports of a significant number of applicants failing to pass the fitness tests involved. Does this make sense to anyone? We have 11,000 people who want to be a garda. We need 800 of them and we have 94 and yet we are turning away people because they cannot do enough push-ups. I do not want weak or unfit gardaí either but can we not train them, perhaps? I am not certain of the entry process, but one would think that an intensive bootcamp would be enough to get many of these potential recruits over the line when it comes to the fitness test. Is this something that exists? If not, why not?
The Minister secured funding for 1,000 additional recruits in budget 2023. What plans are being put place to see that enough men and women are recruited to spend that money on? The Garda Representative Association, which has around 11,500 front-line members, has repeatedly said there are not enough gardaí to provide a proper policing service. Is it any wonder that we see those scenes online? Gangs of youths are roaming the streets, either on BMXs or joyriding cars, and laying on women and working immigrants. It is a fine advertisement for our capital city internationally.
One aspect of this debate that has not been touched on is self-defence. If you are attacked on the street, you are in a self-defence situation until some bystander either steps in to even the odds or calls the gardaí who have to travel there. One can suffer a lot of harm in five or ten minutes. It could be fatal harm. Does the Minister have plans to strengthen laws allowing people to defend themselves whether on the streets or in their homes. When one is being attacked, it really of little consequences what one’s surroundings happen to be. Should women walking alone at night be allowed to carry pepper spray to defend against would-be attackers or rapists? The Government says "No". What about an extendable baton? That also illegal. Of course, do not dare reach for that kitchen knife as the thug who broke into your home bears down on you. You are supposed to call the police, and wait patiently while one or two of our 94 new recruits drive over to you, during which time your attacker can do whatever damage they can. It is all symptomatic of the nanny state approach of successive Governments. The common folk cannot be trusted to do the right thing, so the Government has to do it for them. Whether it is Covid, climate change or the use of force in defence, the State in its wisdom must control and mandate, leaving little room for the individual to decide for themselves.
There is a growing desire in this country for a Minister for Justice who is tough on crime. That is real, violent crime rather than someone saying words online that might hurt someone's feelings. We all know by now that playground adage about sticks and stones is untrue. Words can and do hurt but sticks and stones are still out there and they are being used on innocent people in this country. One could poll the country to ask people if they would feel safer knowing that a pair of gardaí were walking the beat around their neighbourhood or sitting on Twitter eight hours a day and knocking on the doors of people who were mean on the Internet. I believe the answer would be quite clear cut.
If we want safer streets, the path to them is more gardaí and to pay them right. Pay them more. There should be more hands-on community prevention and we should allow individuals to defend themselves. I look forward to seeing these plans actioned.
I acknowledge what the Minister of State said about the importance of public order and the fact that people will feel safe on the streets. He spoke about the right to be safe and the right to feel safe. This is tremendously important. It is as important in Dún Laoghaire as in Dunshaughlin, Dunmanway or Dunmore. It is a problem that exists throughout the country. It is not just on O'Connell Street or in Dublin but it exists in every town and many villages around the country.
The effect of public disorder and of a threat on the street is pervasive. It fundamentally disturbs a person's right to peaceably enjoy where they live. It is wrong and we must make it a priority to tackle. That is evident in what the Government has done in relation to the gardaí and the laws on public order. I welcome the initiatives that are already in place. I do not propose to go through them all. The Minister of State mentioned some already. I want to acknowledge that the Department of Justice, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, have put in place a number of measures to help people and to help the gardaí as well in relation to public disorder and the idea of safety in the street.
However, what goes hand-in-hand with this discussion is some of the mythology that travels with public disorder. Something happens and it becomes a viral tweet as another Senator mentioned. Things were being done to deal with these issues before any viral tweet came out and it is certainly not the case that any government, whether it is a government of my party or any other, needs to see a viral tweet to take action. The evidence is there that the Government has been taking consistent action over a long number of years. However, the fact there is something on the Internet that shows a public disorder incident, in Dublin city or wherever it might be, brings it to the fore and unfortunately it leads to a conversation that suggests to people that it is not safe to walk down the street. I have refuted that on a number of occasions. I do not believe that it is true in Ireland, in Dublin or in most towns or villages around this country. It does not mean that incidents do not occur or that there is not criminality or disorder or that there are not people who feel unsafe as a consequence of something that has either happened to them or that they have witnessed. All that happens and must be dealt with. However, it is important to be very clear that Ireland is still, if not the safest country in European, then among them and Dublin is probably the safest capital city in Europe. That is why it is extremely unhelpful to talk in terms of problematic subcultures. I do not even know what that means but the previous Senator mentioned that and proceeded to list a whole load of myths that go with this discussion which are unhelpful and absolutely unjustified.
I will address the talk of Garda numbers. There was certainly a glitch in Garda recruitment. It was primarily due to having two years of lockdown and we could not open Templemore and get trainees in but the Senator selectively chose to ignore that the budget allowed for 1,000 new gardaí next year and another 400 civilian staff. Those 400 civilian staff are tremendously important because they put gardaí out of Garda stations and onto the streets. The guys and girls in the uniforms who are trained to deal with public order and all other types of criminality are on the streets rather than stamping passport forms, doing other administrative work or writing up statements or whatever paperwork they need to do. That is a measure that puts gardaí on the beat. I do not disagree that is part, if not a major part, of the solution.
It is not the case, however, that anyone is being turned away from An Garda Síochána because they cannot do enough push-ups. What a flippant and disrespectful remark to make about the quality of gardaí going into the force. We are tremendously lucky in this country to have a force in An Garda Síochána that is highly trained and responsible. We saw that during the pandemic when they had to deal with incredibly difficult public order situations not two streets away from this House, where they had fireworks shot at them and projectiles thrown at them. The gardaí did not respond in a disproportionate manner but in the way that they were trained to respond because we have maintained a high level of training and responsibility. Their job is not easy but we are incredibly lucky to have men and women in that force who discharge their duty respectfully and responsibly.
I heard a discussion on this on the radio this week. Someone suggested they should be armed or given more weaponry because people do not mess with police in Spain, France or wherever because if you do, they beat the living whatever out of you.
I do not want a police force like that. I do not want a police state and I do not want a situation whereby, when I am on the street, I am afraid of the gardaí rather than the perpetrators of public disorder. What I want is a highly trained force. We should mark the fact this is what we have, notwithstanding that we need more gardaí. That is undoubtedly true but I acknowledge what the Minister of State, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Department have done to put more gardaí on the street. It is worth nothing that we have more members in service in An Garda Síochána today than ever before in the history of the State. That is no small achievement and it is worthy of acknowledgement, rather than the derision we have heard so far in this debate.
I want to address the issues that were brought up regarding self-defence. The law on self-defence is very clear and also very proportionate. No more than saying to people they should go out on the streets with pepper spray, a baton or, God forbid, a kitchen knife, the law does not say that if somebody breaks into a person's house, he or she must sit there for three hours and wait for the Garda. That is an absolute supposition on the part of the Senator who said it and it also is an irresponsible thing to say. People are, of course, entitled to defend themselves if somebody breaks into their home. What the law says, however, is that one must do so proportionately. People are not allowed to stab someone just because he or she comes into their house. This is not the United States. We must have a rule of law that retains a sense of proportionality, which was absent in the statement by the speaker who went before me.
What are the solutions? The first point to make is that there is no easy solution. I acknowledge what the Minister of State said, which is that the solution cannot just be a policing one. The solution starts well before that. It is about education and resources. The focus required is quite different from what Senator Keogan said about there being a problematic subculture. I do not know what that means but I certainly do not recognise it in the communities I work in throughout my area and in the people I have met throughout the country, including through my professional work as a barrister. I meet a lot of people involved in criminal disorder but I do not see this problematic subculture. I see people who have never had a chance. I see people who have had every opportunity stripped away from them because of the peer group of which they are part, the drugs in their area or other disadvantages.
I see that we can address these issues at source. Prevention is better than cure. Putting in place resources for communities in which these problems exist is not just a responsible but an effective solution to public disorder. Education goes hand in hand with that. As mentioned earlier, it is about showing people, particularly young men, how their behaviour may be threatening to other citizens. Shouting on the street, messing and brawling, even if it is all in good fun, never mind when it gets serious, can be really intimidating to others, particularly elderly people and people, especially women, who are on their own. Showing those engaging in such behaviour that this is the case will often, in and of itself, help to deal with the problem. I do not think there is a huge coterie of people engaged in such activity or a problematic subculture. There is not a huge number of people who set out to make others' lives a misery. There certainly are people involved in criminality and the law must deal with them. However, there also are people who do not have other diversions and opportunities available to them. They do not have access to sports clubs, projects or the same educational opportunities as others. Those people need to be targeted.
If we are serious about having safe streets and dealing with public disorder, then, yes, we need more gardaí and more resources, but we also need to deal with the root causes and show people there are other options available to them. We must educate them, resource them and ensure they have the capacity not to get involved in public disorder or other criminality but to go down a constructive route whereby they have other opportunities available to them that are constructive both for them and for other members of society.
Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. One way in which the national broadcaster did the State some service was by shining a light on this issue and not sweeping it under the carpet. It was upsetting to see the scenes on the premier street in Ireland, which is steeped in history. That situation is a microcosm of an issue that faces people in many parts of Ireland. It is a multi-stranded, multifaceted and complex issue and putting more police at the problem is not the single solution to it. Several different approaches are required.
One way we can help to prevent antisocial behaviour on our streets is by designing it out. Our public space shapes our behaviour dramatically and influences how safe we feel. A dark, narrow and quiet alleyway will feel much less safe than a bustling, well-lit avenue. It is up to our local authorities and hard-working councillors to decide what our public spaces look like but we can help at a national level. One of the objectives under the Department's justice plan is to make spaces safer and reduce opportunities for sexual and gender-based violence. One approach to this is to undertake audits of safety for women and girls, which is a framework developed by the UN. We should give money to local authorities to carry out this work, identify which areas are considered to be unsafe and use those lessons to improve existing public spaces and inform the design of future spaces.
Feeling safe in public spaces is important, especially for women. Many of the indicators for the justice plan are based on the findings of the Garda's public attitudes surveys. One of these relates to a question on fear of crime and the impact it has on quality of life. We have the results of the 2021 survey and they are interesting. They back up the importance of urban design and safety. When asked what factors would make them feel safe in the community, 43% of respondents said street lighting, which was the second most common answer after having more gardaí on the streets. I am not saying it is a single, silver-bullet solution but I am absolutely convinced that greater visibility of An Garda Síochána will help the situation. I appreciate what the Minister of State said in respect of O'Connell Street but the fact is we need more gardaí on the streets. The Commissioner has declined to create a Garda rail unit but, in fact, I am seeing a lot more members of the Garda on our trains, which is already having a positive effect. The very presence of the forces of law and order is effective.
It is interesting to dig down into the statistics I mentioned. A total of 34% of respondents feel that access to recreational activities for teenagers and young adults locally would make people in those communities feel safer, while a similar number, 32%, believe good local mental health services would have the same effect. One speech in the Seanad will not offer all the solutions but I hope our combined contributions can shine a light on particular areas and offer suggestions the Minister of State will take on board. I know he is already doing good work in this area. The survey finding regarding mental health services underlines the need to approach crime and antisocial behaviour in a holistic way. As I said, this is a complex, multifaceted issue.
We must work with local communities. We have in our thoughts and prayers the community garda whose car was hit last week in Youghal and the gardaí who were assaulted in Ballyfermot this week. Another solution I am convinced will work is the public standing up against such crimes. People in Ballyfermot are very proud and decent and do not like their community being misrepresented in the media. They are concerned people might get the wrong impression that such behaviour is representative of their proud, decent community. They came out on the streets yesterday, in a grassroots response, to support the Garda Síochána. I was proud of what they did and I would like to see it mirrored throughout Ireland. We need more support for the police and a calling out of this thuggish behaviour. Those responsible do not speak for our proud, hard-working communities. Such retrograde activity does damage to the proud image and reputation of communities in which people have worked hard to make their area better and safer.
The Government's focus on investing in communities and community policing is a step in the right direction. In the budget, the Minister announced that the community safety innovation fund would be boosted to €3 million by way of the re-investment in communities of the proceeds of Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, seizures. It is appropriate that the money taken from those who are feasting on communities and being enriched to the tune of millions of euro by putting a lethal cocktail of drugs into the hands of vulnerable people should be reinvested in those communities. I welcome it wholeheartedly. That investment is in addition to the increase in youth service funding by €2.5 million to €24 million. It will help to divert young people from crime and free up gardaí for front-line duties.
We are also investing in communities and sports and recreational activities. The Government has been very supportive and generous in sport. I am convinced it is a solution. Sport keeps people on the straight and narrow. I do not know exactly what they mean when they say it, but such decorated athletes as Kellie Harrington, the Olympian, and EU boxing champion, Eric Donovan, when asked, respond that sport possibly saved their lives. Sport is key, as well as recreation facilities.
The Minister of State, Deputy Browne, recently launched a discussion paper to extend the Garda youth diversion scheme to include young people up to the age of 24, which is something the Green Party strongly supports. Will the Minister of State provide updates on when we might see that change made if Government agrees to his initiative? Will he also provide an update on the work of the expert firm on antisocial behaviour? I welcome the Minister of State’s presence in the Chamber. It is very important not to shy away from these debates.
Work is being done, but an awful lot more work has to be done. There is more work to do. I want everyone to feel safe. Unfortunately, when we take a step back, like we saw, for example, with the big headlines regarding O’Connell Street, it takes forensic days and weeks to repair that damage. Some people feel they are not safe on that street. Actions speak louder than words and translating more of the good words of the Government into action is central to an effective response to what is, unfortunately, a growing systemic problem in Ireland.
I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I agree with Senator Vincent P. Martin about CAB moneys being reinvested in our communities. As long as I can remember, Sinn Féin has been calling for just that. That would be a very welcome move. In addition, it should be designed out as well, as it is a very important contribution in terms of designing public spaces for people and communities. For example, better lit streets and more trees, in particular, are good in terms of discouraging antisocial behaviour.
As elected public representatives, we must acknowledge and address, directly and in a considerate and constructive manner, the public order issues faced by communities. We know communities across Ireland are filled with good, decent and hard-working people and families. It is our duty to ensure these communities and those who live, work and socialise in them have the support and resources necessary to thrive now and into the future.
First, I would like to recognise and commend An Garda Síochána on the fundamental role it plays in maintaining public order and safe streets. A strong Garda presence, from community policing to specialised and operational policing, is vital to ensure communities see, feel and believe they are safe. In this regard, I am particularly mindful of the work undertaken by members of the force as part of Operation Citizen and other similar operations.
However, long-term under-resourcing of An Garda Síochána has resulted in an often overstretched and demoralised force. The Irish Times cited that many members would be hesitant to recommend a career in policing. Many more said that though they had previously planned to remain in the force until compulsory retirement age, they now intended to retire when they are eligible. We have now reached a point where one in three rank-and-file gardaí who left the force this year resigned rather than retired. These high levels of resignation are already having an impact on front-line policing. Since 2018, we have seen a decrease of 168 gardaí deployed in the public order unit alone. Gardaí themselves have advised there is not the level of manpower to provide the public a proper service. Sinn Féin recognises that everyone is entitled to policing that serves the community as a whole. We therefore call on the Government to provide An Garda Síochána with the resources necessary to undertake its work effectively.
On long-term solutions, however, gardaí alone cannot and should not be tasked with ensuring development and maintenance of a safe and vibrant community. It is also important to look at the bigger picture and consider the long-term community investments necessary to reduce crime. We are all aware of the Government’s failure to invest and develop affordable housing. If communities are to survive and thrive, it is vital that, at a minimum, they have affordable housing, access to appropriate educational, health and other essential services, free and easily accessible recreational facilities and spaces, public transport and larger infrastructure that meets the needs of all within the community.
A vibrant nightlife is also an issue I wanted to raise. Give Us The Night and campaigners have been advocating for positive changes to nightlife in Ireland for some time. The implementation of the report of the night-time economy task force goes some way in terms of using our city as a kind of 24-hour place where people do not just flood the streets at 2.30 a.m. and put huge pressure on services, retail and fast-food outlets. Rather, we should have staggered closing times of pubs and late bars, with night clubs closing later at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., so that we use our city in a much better way and do not put that pressure on services. Not everyone who goes out at night drinks but, in many cases, people have alcohol on board.
I also cannot rise today without referencing an escalation that I see of attacks on LGBT people. We saw on 9 November in Dublin city centre a group of men set upon three drag queens on South Great George's Street or Dame Street or on the corner of the two. I raise this issue because, the last I checked, I think there is an average of one attack on LGBT people every month reported in the LGBT press. There is currently no hate crime legislation on the books, but the Government has given a commitment that it will be on the books and signed into law by the end of the year. That is welcome and has been long called for and demanded.
Everyone condemns antisocial and criminal incidents. However, as elected public representatives, we have a duty not only to express our condemnation and stand in solidarity with victims of crime but to support the Garda and communities to develop targeted, actionable and achievable solutions in both the short and long term. It is through this action, as opposed to mere condemnation that long-lasting and meaningful progression can be achieved.
I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I strongly welcome the fact we are taking the time to discuss the needs of safety on our streets. I will focus a bit on our capital city, if people will indulge me on that. I am one of the many people who has chosen to make Dublin my home and put down roots in my local community in Dublin 11. My partner, my family and I know what it is like to be welcomed into Dublin. While my accent perhaps has not yet changed - it is hard to undo a Drogheda-Cork accent that has developed over 30-odd years - I am very happy to be part of that thriving, exciting community in Dublin 11. We have been very welcomed there.
Those of us who have been welcomed into the city of Dublin and its many diverse communities know what this city can be at its best and what happens when those communities are given the support and resources they need to shine. However, this week, sadly, we have also seen and been reminded of what can happen when leadership is absent and the problems of our capital city are allowed to eat away at our social fabric.
I spoke about the events in East Wall yesterday. I know they have been very distressing to many residents of a community that I know from personal experience to be an extremely warm, open, welcoming and multicultural community. The 380 individuals and families who will be housed in the former ESB building are already in extremely vulnerable circumstances. It is welcome that they can rely on the support and care of our State. There is no excuse for holding a protest aimed at intimidating or demeaning people to drive them out of an area. When my colleague Senator Sherlock spoke to the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, last Friday, she appealed to him not only to put the necessary supports in place for those individuals and families but also to address the major and long-standing shortfall in supports that exists in areas such as East Wall. Local Dubliners do not want people intimidated and run out of their communities, but they want to see political leadership tackle the problems of poverty and disadvantage that have been allowed to mar our capital city.
The north west of the city in particular, the area in which I live, still needs significant investment to address some of the shocking gaps in accessing childcare, early years education, GP services and, in particular, therapies and greater supports for those with disabilities. Many brilliant service providers in the area need far greater support from the Government to meet growing demands for their work in recent years. The Government has to give confidence to the local community that it will do everything it can to support those fleeing from war and conflict and to break the cycle of local deprivation that has put so many services under strain. A lack of all these things has a negative result on public order and safety on our streets. A lack of these services drives division, forces communities to pit one person against another to compete for resources and leaves people off who should be responsible. We should be responsible for resourcing and providing supports in those communities. When those communities have been left for decades, social unrest will happen and people will blame the wrong people. There are bad actors out there who are more than happy to drive us to blaming one another and making people feel unsafe in their own communities and streets.
When we think about safety in our capital and the areas people mention, Members have spoken about O'Connell Street many times in both Houses. We think about the redevelopment, for example, of the Clerys quarter, and about ensuring the deal between the site's previous owners and the unions is implemented in full and that the community benefits clauses are used to establish a benchmark for good development of the O'Connell Street area and the city as a whole. The Minister of State has rightly spoken about the value of more gardaí on the beat and of the youth diversion projects to keep people out of trouble but if we really want to create a secure city, then respect and decent wages and conditions within the local communities are key. At present, we have high-end luxury brand shops just a stone's throw away from some of the most economically disadvantaged communities in our country, which have above-average levels of low-wage employment and joblessness. It is absolutely vital that our concern for a safe and secure Dublin and capital includes a vision of workers from inner-city communities and the north-west communities being afforded an opportunity to earn a decent livelihood within the city.
As a member of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media, it would be remiss of me not to add, in any discussion about preserving or promoting that which makes Dublin city a special and safe place to be, that we have to remember the invaluable contribution of our artistic community. For hundreds of years, the city has defined itself on the work of artists of all kinds who have helped shape the city's image of itself and forge a proud and open civic identity. Today, artists and cultural workers in Dublin deserve to be able to make their living with respect and security and yet we have seen a decades-long decline of artistic places in the city with countless creative spaces being bought out and forced to close in favour of office blocks and hotels. I was thrilled when my colleague, Senator Sherlock, played a really big part in securing new premises down in Phibsborough for the wonderful artists of Richmond Road Studios. It should not have been up to a local representative to be able to find artistic spaces and negotiate on behalf of the artists in that area. For every success story there are so many artists who simply find it impossible to make their livelihood in Dublin right now. We need investment in the long-term cultural identity of our city and the well-being of those who most define that culture and make it a vibrant and unique place to live.
We also need to make Dublin a place where everyone can feel safe getting around; somewhere where all of us can walk, cycle or take public transport securely and reliably. On this, we are currently falling short of our city's potential. There is a real lack of ambition to pursue the kind of radical transformation Dublin needs despite the success, for example, of the Capel Street pedestrianisation and Dublin's huge potential to promote walking, cycling and active transport, in favour of our current over-reliance on cars alone. Despite this, the greater Dublin area transport strategy of the National Transport Authority, NTA, only talks about reducing car mode share from 52% to 42% in the metropolitan Dublin area and that is across a period of 35 years. That indicates a real lack of ambition. We should not have to wait until 2042 or anything like it for a city that is safe to walk and cycle in. I noted the residents of Dublin have to wait decades before the city's air is made safe to breathe. At the moment, many of Dublin's northside urban villages are effectively being used as highways in and out of the city centre, bearing the brunt of commuter traffic and suffering nitrogen oxide levels as high as 25% above the maximum limit set by the EU. The poor level of air quality arising from heavy traffic emissions through Ballymun or Santry, for instance, is one of the greatest long-term threats to the well-being of Dubliners we currently face.
I have gone on a slightly tangential way around some of the issues we are discussing but if we want to make our city safe for people to live in, we have to consider things that are not just what we traditionally think of as safety, such as more gardaí on the street and all of these things. We need to think about making our city a safe and liveable city where people want to be. It comes back again to this. If we want to make Dublin the safest possible place to live where every citizen can feel secure in their communities and feel personally safe, we of course need a better resourced Garda but we also need serious and sustained investment in tackling the root causes of disadvantage and discontent in our city and communities; whether that is local employment, redevelopment of the city, promotion of active travel or crucially, improving access to vital health and education services. There is so much more that can be done to make sure every Dubliner or any other city dweller can feel safe, healthy and proud of their city.
I thank the Minister of State for coming in here today. I am not sure it is always a good idea to come in here and think out loud but potentially that is what I will be doing. I considered whether I should come to the Chamber today for the discussion on public order on safe streets. There is something wrong with that if my perceived idea is, because of some of the contributions I make or the groups for which I advocate, that when I come into this Chamber, the perception will be that somehow, I am okay with particular behaviours, crimes or circumstances. That is not the case. The reason I bring this up is that perception is an interesting thing to think about. My perception today led me to consider if I should come in or if it would be just me again trying to fight for an understanding of some of the people who commit terrible crimes. How do I get people to think about them or think about responding to them in a different way in order that we get to the place of safer streets? All of us want the same thing but I often come at it from the point of view of the most ostracised people; the ones we are labelling, who we call names or thugs or scumbags. Nobody really wants to extend the empathy that far because the behaviour is so abrupt, so harsh and so violent. Sometimes we can struggle to really say what type of work we need to do, beyond policing, to bring us straight to the heart of being able to have those discussions. That was my perception and people will say that is not the perception they had and so on.
I bring up perception because safety is also a matter of perception. If I am in my community and I walk into the local chipper and all the lads are jumping around outside, smoking weed and shouting up to the balcony above, I literally step around them and go into the chipper. If I have a relative with me or somebody from a different community who is not used to that boisterous environment, they become scared. I think they have nothing to be scared of but I can see they are frightened and ask them what is wrong. That is perception. The idea that we are going to respond with strategies and legislation because of perception is not always the way we need to do this. We sometimes need to not respond to Newsnight or weekly reports of O'Connell Street where this and that is happening. We throw the full force at it without giving space and time to think about how we respond to that with a longer-term vision and in a longer-term way that creates real safety, rather than the perception of safety. When we respond really quickly, we give the public the idea that a 24-hour Garda station or more police on the street is going to create more safety. That again for me is just perception because crime has persisted for generations in communities. Crime persisted under the guillotine - can you image that for fear? People were literally guillotined in public if they committed some sort of crime or murder. They were guillotined. Did any of those things every stop, even with the fear of a public spectacle and being guillotined? They did not. My fear is that we just keep going around and around in election cycles, responding to public outcry and to incidents, and never sewing together the threads that have existed since the beginning of time as to why crime exists, how we respond to crime, how we create safety, how we challenge perception and how we make sure communities have real decision-making powers in how we do that.
We need to start by decentralising responsibility for some of those decisions. For the past 15 to 20 years, we have put decision-making power back into central government and the Departments instead of creating decision-making authority around community development, how to respond and how to engage with people within communities. For me, the idea of safe streets has to go right back to the idea of safe lives. We can imagine that some of the young men and women who are involved in crime, which we do not want them to be involved in, do not feel safe in their very existence in the world. They struggle to have the foresight to see where they are creating a lack of safety by overreaching into other people's lives, committing crimes or engaging in antisocial behaviour. There is a whole approach that needs to be adopted here. There must be an understanding of the trauma and oppression in the lives of so many people who we do not want to work with. When I first tried to work with drug dealers in Bluebell in 2010 or 2011, there was pushback. People said I should not be working with drug dealers and negative comments were made. I thought it did not make sense. I do not understand why we cannot work with people who sell drugs, instead of completely ostracising them, and figure out that behaviour and why people become involved in it. People sometimes sell drugs because, as a result of their living in poverty, they are groomed to do so. Over the past few years, we have discussed the young eight-year-old children being groomed by gangsters. It is easy for us to make that association, instead of asking whether all of those involved are not all being groomed on the basis of inequality, even those we want to call gangsters or drug dealers. We must ask what is causing the conditions in which people live, why they exist and how can we change them.
We all have to be willing to lose our seats on the back of this. We have to be willing to be ambitious. We cannot believe that we cannot say or do something because we do not want the public to think we are soft on crime. Being soft on crime is just a myth; it is not a thing. Nobody wants crime and everyone wants people to live in a safer world and environment, to flourish, be happy and all of those things. We do not need to be hard on crime, but on the conditions of crime, including poverty. We must create pathways and ways out for people. We still do not have adequate spent conviction laws in this country for people who leave criminality. We are still handing down short sentences. We are calling for mandatory sentences, taking away the discretion of judges to be able to do their jobs in the first place. We saw an awful situation happen in Ballyfermot, yet we did not stop and think about what mandatory sentencing really means. Are we all just going to come in here and shout about it? My worry is that nobody thinks about the implications of mandatory sentencing and how it impacts on the judicial system, on those with mental health issues who may commit acts of violence sometimes and on discretion within the legal system.
People come in here and throw phrases around. At times, many of us do not understand them. I fear that politics will become a place where we all talk about ideas and thoughts in the spur of the moment, but we do not actually consider how we, as a country, can think and act well in order that ten or 20 years from now the future Members of this House will not just be replicas of us saying exactly what we are saying. History repeats itself, and it is so boring to watch. Things go around and around. We all need to take a bit of space and time and think about safety as perception, rather than responding to every incident that happens in communities. I have been living around these types of incidents my whole life. They do not just happen because a camera comes into an area one day.
Well said.
I ask that speakers keep to the two and a half minutes of allotted time. The next speaker is Senator Crowe. He is sharing time with Senator Murphy.
I thank the Minister of State for being here. I will keep my contribution local because I only have two and a half minutes.
Over the past couple of years, I have repeatedly referred to the growing antisocial behaviour problem in Eyre Square. This issue has already had horrific and life-altering consequences. Indeed, a young woman recently lost the sight in one eye after fireworks were thrown at her when she was waiting for a bus. The situation is out of control. That such incidents are happening in Galway city in daylight without being addressed is simply unacceptable as far as I am concerned. I agree with the previous speaker that there are a range of issues to consider from the get-go, but I wish to raise this specific issue. Recently, a gentleman was attacked in the area in the evening. As the Minister of State is aware, Eyre Square is in the heart of the city, opposite the train station. It is the first impression that visitors get of our city. Galway has largely been a safe and happy place in which to live. We cannot allow the actions of a small minority to alter that. The problem is affecting the reputation of Galway and the tourist attraction that it is.
I was born and raised 250 yards from Eyre Square. I know the area well and deal with residents and businesses there on a daily basis. I have repeatedly raised the issue over the last 18 months to two years, and beyond that, when I was on the council for 11 years. The people in the area feel that the problem is being ignored. Residents talk about experiencing fear and anxiety, particularly at night. The Minister of State will appreciate that businesses are already operating in a challenging environment, without people being reluctant to come to an area. The situation got so bad recently that one of the shops on Eyre Square had to close because there was a gathering of groups and gypsies in the area. That is just not acceptable. Action is required now. RTÉ aired a programme about the problems on O'Connell Street in Dublin. We all agree that there is a problem there, but there is also a major issue in Galway. There is a tourism hub in Eyre Square that would be ideal for a Garda substation or hub. We need to look at that option. I genuinely believe the visibility of gardaí is a massive issue. It helps and it gives people confidence. The proposal needs to be looked at. I ask the Minister of State to raise the issue with the Garda Commissioner at the earliest opportunity and to get back to me.
I thank the Minister of State for being here. The issue of safety on our streets applies to the whole country, not just to one part of it. However, I acknowledge that where there are bigger populations there can be bigger issues. I sympathise with the two gardaí who were attacked recently in this city. I also extend my sympathies to a friend of mine from Longford who was viciously attacked recently. We have heard of other similar incidents up and down the country. We must have respect for An Garda Síochána. I know that some people talk about members of the Garda breaking the law. As far as I am concerned, there are ample laws in place to deal with those situations, and members of the Garda are dealt with when they break they law. We also now need to look out for the welfare of gardaí, who are dealing with so many issues in comparison with their predecessors years ago. They deal with a broad range of issues including immigration and domestic violence. Perhaps not enough was done to address those issues years ago. Gardaí have to deal with a major number of issues, which is causing them quite a lot of distress. The latter gives rise to mental health problems. Gardaí deal with some outrageous situations, which is why I welcome the recruitment of 400 civilian staff. That will free up gardaí more and give them more time. It is impossible for them to do everything and to do office work at the same time.
I want to highlight the sympathetic ear and voice of gardaí in cases where young people who have unfortunately become involved with drug dealers are brought before the courts. From my own area of Roscommon and Galway, I know that gardaí try to be as sympathetic as possible and do everything to stop those people from being trapped in those situations. Drug dealers continuously offend and supply other people. They are villains and they are wrong. They have to be dealt with by the law, irrespective of the situation that exists.
Hear, hear.
The Government is toughening up on the issue. Great work is being done in respect of those criminal groups at the moment. It is necessary, and it is what people want. Of course, we all have to be sympathetic towards young people who are in the situations where they are, for example, acting as money mules. This is a massive issue that is happening in our own counties. Young people's lives are being destroyed. It needs to be tackled, and young people need to be warned about the dangers of it.
I wish to bring to the attention of the House the fact that I was rushing during my contribution in order to try to keep to the time limit. The word I wanted to use was "gangs" in order to highlight the fact that gangs were gathering around Eyre Square.
The Senator will be ganged up on if he takes the time of people who are waiting to come in.
I just want to be clear as to what goes on in the evening.
I am conscious of the need to get everybody in. I believe Senator Flynn wants to get in. I ask everyone to co-operate and to take one and half or two minutes. Is that okay? I told Senator Seery Kearney she had four minutes. Could she try to keep to three?
I will try to be as quick and efficient as possible. I have listened to this debate from my office and the Chamber and, from what I have heard, one would imagine we live in a completely lawless state, which is not at all the truth. The fact is that, even in those communities that have made the headlines in the past week, the vast majority of people go about their daily business normally and peacefully, abiding by the law and working in co-operation with the Garda. They support the Garda and strong and safe communities. I am with Senator Ruane in believing there is a danger in homing in on everything that is wrong when discussing topics like this, leaving us with the impression of a failed state when nothing could be further from the truth. I know the Minister of State has been out in Cherry Orchard and that funding for the likes of the youth diversion fund has been increased. There is incredibly positive work being done by passionate people working on the ground with communities and funded by Government. That is not new or a response to any one incident hitting the news headlines. It is something that has been going on for years. There are new innovations in the community safety innovation fund and that is to be applauded. There is fantastic work going on.
For years, gardaí been working with policing forums and drugs task forces. There are certainly gardaí involved in the drugs task force I am on. Their contributions, their listening and the advice we get on the side are extraordinary. There is work going on that nobody ever talks about. We cannot do so due to the secrecy of certain matters. Incredible interventions go on at the local level with regard to drug intimidation that just never get talked about because of the confidentiality and sensitivity of the issues involved. There are great things going on all of the time.
I, too, shudder at the likes of mandatory sentencing and people in the House demanding the State get tougher and tougher. Some of the people who call for such measures have never stood inside a prison. They have never experienced what it is like. People criticise suspended sentences and feel they are nothing, but they are an awful lot to be hanging over people's heads. They should try living in a situation in which they are deprived of their liberty and they have no say in how they perform their day. Being in prison is not something light and the threat of it is not something to be sniffed at.
It is important we value what is already there. We need to ensure our Judiciary is supported in exercising discretion and responding to pleas of mitigation. Are there places where there should be minimum sentences, for example, in cases of rape and other crimes? We need to discuss that. However, I am sympathetic towards Senator Ruane's contention that, when we are looking at crime in communities, we need to be sure we have a cohesive approach. We have seen the evidence of how the community safety forum works in Drogheda, where it works incredibly well. I look forward to announcements and supports with regard to the likes of Cherry Orchard, where there is one shop, which is a converted house, and two prisons. That was the big thing to come out of our recent meetings.
We need infrastructure and interdepartmental work. We see interdepartmental and interagency co-operation in many other areas. Nompilo is working with me in my office at the moment. She is from South Africa. She has spoken to me about how they have one Government plan or programme and a cohesive interagency approach to supporting communities in deprivation. We could learn a lot from that. We should make sure we are not working in silos because the way to make a stronger and safer community is for everyone to work together.
I believe Senators Dolan, Doherty and Currie are going to share time.
They have all three minutes that are left.
Yes. If people are co-operative, I am also going to give one minute to Senator Flynn.
I also have time.
Yes, the Senator is sharing with Senators Doherty and Currie. Senator Doherty is going first.
To be honest, I do not know how we can share five minutes between three of us. I will talk today about safer, stronger communities. To my mind, the only way to achieve this is to have more gardaí. I stand today on behalf of gardaí and to say on the record that the HR system and recruitment process of An Garda Síochána is absolutely and utterly broken. Those are not my words but those of superintendents throughout the country. Since 2019, we have had a steady decline in the number of gardaí going through Templemore. We fool ourselves and say this is because of Covid. The spin I saw in the newspapers this weekend was that the country is too overweight and we cannot get fit people. It is a load of nonsense. We have a broken recruitment system. It has nothing to do with the investment the State is making in An Garda Síochána. Last year, the Minister announced money for 800 new recruits. The Minister of State who is here today and the senior Minister announced that there would be 1,000 new recruits next year, yet only 74 people will graduate from Templemore next year. There is something intrinsically wrong there. We do gardaí a disservice if we do not recognise that morale is at the lowest it has ever been. We have far more people retiring, including people who have not reached retirement age, and the numbers being recruited do not come close to replacing them. We have to recognise and put on the record that we need a root-and-branch review of the HR system. In actual fact, what we need is to instruct the Commissioner to take a brand new approach to the recruitment of gardaí. Otherwise, we will be sitting here in another couple of years, missing targets and wondering why we have the criminality we have on the streets and not enough gardaí to address it.
I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to speak on public order and safe streets. That community fund from the Criminal Assets Bureau is very important and crucial. That is going to deliver different types of activities, including sports activities. It will be used to engage people in many different areas, particularly the rural areas I am looking at. I am on the joint policing committee in Roscommon, so I get updates about the activities there. I understand the importance of the community liaison. Older people, those over 70, who are living on their own are the sort of people we are dealing with in our rural areas.
On the divisional breakdown, my hometown of Ballinasloe is now linked with Tuam. We need more squad cars in Ballinasloe. We also need training for gardaí on blue lights. I do not know if the Minister of State has a response but how many gardaí get trained on blue lights? There are so many courses they need to do after they graduate. Extending the powers governing gardaí and the use of CCTV and bodycams is crucial.
The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has published the general scheme of the policing, security and community safety Bill. It is very important this links in with other groups such as the HSE and not solely An Garda Síochána.
Supports for addiction services are important. Addiction services for alcohol and drugs in rural areas should be linking in with An Garda Síochána, especially when we have great problems in the town of Ballinasloe, where firebombing is taking place. These are crucial supports that are required.
I will make just one very basic point. I completely agree that the increase in antisocial behaviour we are seeing in communities cannot be tackled by policing alone. However, policing is a very important pillar. We are seeing things in Dublin 15 such as playgrounds and other public property being damaged and increased levels of drug taking in public and family areas. It is happening across the board in all communities. It is brilliant we have targeted supports. The youth diversion projects and local community safety partnerships are fantastic, but we also need to invest in our general services. I particularly want to talk about the importance of youth work. I come from a community in Tyrone where there was access to a youth club. Not every child is going to be part of a sports club. There are kids who are interested in politics, activism, technology or music. The youth club is a place for such kids to flourish. It is a key point that we have to invest more in our general youth services.
I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for letting me in. Over the past week, I have been listening to discussion about what has been going on in Ballyfermot. It is not just for the past week. I was born and reared on a halting site in Ballyfermot and I live and breathe in the community.
For the past four years, I have been living in Donegal. We tend to blame and label young people from Ballyfermot, Inchicore, Clondalkin and other disadvantaged areas. To follow on from what Senator Ruane said, we do not stop to ask ourselves why these young people are committing crimes or becoming involved in antisocial behaviour. We need to invest in communities. Successive Governments have failed working class communities, have failed people and have most definitely failed my community. One argument in my community is that we are all labelled as knackers and scumbags and we should not be allowed in places or to be part of communities. We are this and that and everything but ourselves. Why does the Government not invest in the likes of the Traveller mediation service? Speaking as a youth worker, I know youth work works. This year, though, our youth centres received little or no money. The Garda diversion programmes work with young people. A lot of good work is being done.
Senators should not believe we are qualified to act as judges and juries over people in working class communities. The justice system works for the few, not for the many. If you are a member of the Traveller community and you are drunk walking through Ballyfermot, you will be stopped by gardaí and searched. We have seen a lot of research that has shown evidence that what I am saying is right. In many cases, Travellers are targeted by gardaí and are getting longer sentences in court.
As Senator Ruane said, we have to look at this from a wider perspective. Obviously, we need gardaí on our streets and I am against all kinds of crime, but we have to ask why we are playing a part in labelling vulnerable communities. We should be getting them out of poverty, not putting more gardaí on the streets.
That is well said. I appreciate everyone's co-operation and the patience of the Minister of State. I call on him to respond.
I thank the Senators for their detailed and wide-ranging contributions. That a significant number spoke shows the genuine interest in what we have been discussing. I thank the Acting Chair and the Senators for giving me the time to speak.
Policing is just one facet of community safety, as the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has stated. I assure Senators and the public that the Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs. Budget 2023 provides for in excess of €2.14 billion in funding to the Garda organisation. This will allow for investment in the service's fleet, accommodation, ICT and, most importantly, the Garda organisation's most vital asset, namely, its people. The budget provides for the recruitment of up to an additional 1,000 gardaí and 400 Garda staff. Coupled with the roll-out of the operating model, with its focus on community engagement and further reassignments of gardaí to front-line duties through civilianisation where their skills and experience can be best utilised, I am confident the Garda will have the resources to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. I am also confident the Garda will continue to keep our communities safe for all.
Since the reopening of the Garda College in 2014, more than 4,000 new Garda members have attested and been assigned to stations across the country. More than double the number of applications were received this year than in the previous Garda recruitment competition in 2019. I was delighted to see increased numbers of applications from women and new communities. The police service should be representative of the public it serves and An Garda Síochána is open to all.
The Garda Commissioner has indicated his intention to intake 200 recruits to the college every three months in 2023. To ensure an adequate pipeline of new entrants, the Commissioner has also informed the Minister and me that he intends to announce a new recruitment campaign in early 2023. I would urge anyone interested to please apply.
The recruitment of almost 1,800 additional Garda staff in recent years has increased civilianisation and supported the reassignment of gardaí to front-line policing duties where their skills, training and policing expertise can be fully utilised. This reassignment has meant that, as of the end of October, more than 870 Garda members have been reassigned to operational roles and their previous roles taken on by Garda staff.
The roll-out of a new operating model for An Garda Síochána across all 19 divisions is continuing. The new model is designed to streamline Garda administration and provide a more visible, responsive and localised policing service to communities nationwide. More than 10,000 mobile devices have been rolled out so far, enabling front-line gardaí to perform their duties without returning to stations and keeping more gardaí visible on the streets. These initiatives and more will deliver on the objective of maintaining high-visibility policing in our communities.
The policing, security and community safety Bill will provide that prevention of harm will be a specific statutory objective of An Garda Síochána, recognising the vital work that gardaí do on the ground every day in communities around the country. However, preventing crime does not just mean putting extra gardaí on the beat. Supporting community-based initiatives with the Community Safety Innovation Fund and utilising technologies such as community text alert groups and property marking can also act as effective deterrents. Just as crucially, diverting people from criminality by affording opportunity is key. That is why I believe that locally targeted, evidence-based interventions are the most effective tools for improving community safety.
The Justice Plan 2022 further progresses my Department's commitment to working with public sector colleagues, non-governmental organisations and wider society to deliver safer communities for everyone. I aim to continue this focus through the 2023 justice plan and the ongoing implementation of the youth justice strategy.
As a Minister of State, I see every day the hard work undertaken by gardaí, the voluntary sector, community groups and dedicated civil and public servants towards that goal. I want to see safe communities for our children to play in. I want to see safe communities with communal spaces that we can all enjoy regardless of whether we live in, work in or are just visiting a town, city or rural area. By working in collaboration with communities, we can deliver on these goals. The protection of our communities is not simply a matter for An Garda Síochána. It is a cross-community effort that requires all State agencies to work together in collaboration.