There is a crisis of community safety in Ballymun in my constituency. This week, an 11-year-old boy found a gun with live ammunition in a public space and discharged it. It is a miracle that a child was not killed or injured. This must be a watershed moment for Ballymun. What happened is utterly unacceptable. I have been consistently raising ongoing community safety issues and the need for increased visibility of gardaí in Ballymun directly with the Minister for justice in the Dáil. He committed that he would act and would fund the Ballymun Implementation Board. However, the reality is that people in the community are scared to let their children out to play. They are being intimidated. This was not an isolated incident. Five years ago, the Montague report set out a clear plant to tackle the issues of antisocial behaviour and crime via an increase in the number of gardaí and by means of early intervention. However, the recommendation in this regard has still not been implemented. Will the Government give the Ballymun Implementation Board sufficient funding? There is a threat of the board being wound down. That is what has been expressed. It needs sufficient funding to expand and do its work. Will the Government commit to new initiatives on Garda visibility being rolled out in the coming weeks and months in order to ensure nothing else happens and increased funding for early intervention, local community services and the implementation of the Montague report?

Sentiment score: 0.07