Anti-social behaviour must be addressed before summer holidays begin – Richmond

An increased Garda presence in communities are amongst several measures being called for by a Fine Gael TD.

Dublin Rathdown Deputy Neale Richmond has made the urgent call to tackle worrying anti-social behaviour across Dublin.

Deputy Richmond said: “We have all seen the videos and heard worrying stories of violence on public transport, in our streets and parks across Dublin. The recent incidents of anti-social behaviour throughout Dublin are hugely concerning.

“Gardai, public transport operators and central Government must come together to ensure this recent uptick in anti-social behaviour does not become a trend.

“With Covid-19 restrictions set to ease further in the coming weeks and schools soon finishing for the summer, we will see more people taking public transport and enjoying their local parks and amenities and they must be safe when doing so.

“While our Gardai do stellar work in keeping our streets safe, an increased Gardai presence on the ground in areas where there has been a worrying increase in such anti-social behaviour would go a long way in both preventing repeat incidents, but also assuaging the fears of local residents.

“Transport Infrastructure Ireland have confirmed to me that they are considering a temporary increase in security on LUAS lines to coincide with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

“Dublin Bus have also confirmed that their fleet are fully fitted with CCTV and staff are trained on how to deal with anti-social behaviour.

“I welcome the introduction of the Government’s Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027, particularly its focus on preventing crime and anti-social behaviour through early intervention projects rather than punishing perpetrators after the fact.

“However, urgent action must be taken now to ensure that our streets are safe, especially as our society begins to open up from the latest Covid-19 restrictions.

“The expert forum on anti-social behaviour, as committed to in the Programme for Government, must be expedited to assess the effectiveness of our current approach to reducing anti-social behaviour and propose a new path forward, taking international examples into account.

“After a hugely difficult year of Covid-19 restrictions, school closures and remote working, people deserve to be able to enjoy their summer free of fears and concerns over anti-social behaviour,” Deputy Richmond concluded.