Gardaí under pressure in Dublin 15, Donnelly says

Sinn Féin TD Paul Donnelly has said that Gardaí are under pressure in Dublin 15, and not enough is being done to tackle the issue of scramblers.

Speaking in the Dáil on Wednesday (March 25), the Dublin West TD said his constituents do not believe Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan when he says that he “has a handle” on policing issues in Dublin 15.

The Sinn Féin TD said, “I commend the Gardaí in Dublin 15; they work hard under huge pressure. I hear from them all of the time that they are under-resourced in terms of equipment, but also in terms of back-up.”

“Can the Minister imagine how the general population feels?” he asked.

Donnelly discussed an incident that took place at a local park in the Dublin 15 area, where a dozen people were “hanging around” the area, with six to eight scramblers “flying around” the park.

“Millions of euros have been spent on that park, yet a lot of people fear that they cannot use it if this issue is not dealt with,” he said.

He acknowledged that legislative work has been done on the scrambler issue, but Donnelly warned that enforcement was not taking place.

“The problem is there is very little enforcement because An Garda does not have the resources, and does not have the numbers,” he said.

Donnelly criticised Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan for “failing every year to reach the target” and said he was “parroting” the line about more Gardaí on the streets.

“People just do not see them,” Donnelly said. 

Donnelly questioned the exact training nature of the Gardaí, saying that trainees have a nine-month or two-year-long training regimen, are taught how to march, but are unable to drive cars “with the blue lights on.”

“They can march, because I have been down there and have seen it as part of the passing out of a relative. They can march. They spend hours practising how to march, yet they come out of there not being able to drive cars with the blue lights on – that is absolutely ludicrous,” Donnelly remarked.

Donnelly said that Gardaí are taunted “on a daily basis” by people on scramblers, yet they do not have the resources to properly address the issue.

“I have raised time and again that resources in Britain are used for a dedicated anti-scrambler unit. The Minister needs to ensure that it is resourced and that the legislation is in place to enforce what we need to see on the ground, which is people tackling this. The buck stops with the Minister. People want to see action,” he said.