“Lawlessness” has plagued Dublin for years says O’Callaghan

Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan has said that “lawlessness” in inner-city areas has been a problem for a number of years.

Speaking on Morning Ireland, O’Callaghan, who serves as the party spokesperson on justice, said that while tackling all forms of crime is “impossible,” one short-term solution is to hire more gardaí.

O’Callaghan has pointed to issues in the Garda recruitment system in recent months, remarking that the fitness test for recruits is too strict.

He said the number of gardaí in Ireland did not grow in tandem with population rises in Ireland and said the current number of gardaí is “not enough”.

“We need as policymakers to introduce measures to get numbers in An Garda Síochána up so we can get more gardaí on the street,” he said.

Discussing the assault on an American tourist on Store Street on Wednesday night, O’Callaghan said the crime situation in Dublin is “damaging to tourists and those coming into the country, but also to people who live in the inner-city.”

“They shouldn’t have to live with this level of lawlessness and threat,” said the TD.

An Taoiseach Leo Vardkar said there were 1,000 fewer gardaí in 2015 than current numbers and he said “the effort this year is to recruit an additional 1,000 guards”.

He said the Government is “confident that we will see an overall net increase in the number of guards this year, even when you take account of retirements and resignations”.

Anti-social behaviour on O’Connell Street was featured on a Prime Time segment last October, and since then a garda station has opened on the street, but Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said the garda station has not made a difference in stemming anti-social behaviour in the area.

Speaking in June, the TD said the station has “not made a noticeable difference to the physical policing presence in this part of Dublin city centre,” and called for a state-led approach to tackling the issue.