Leas Ceann Comhairle, Deputies.
While it is not possible for the Government to support the Private Members motion tabled by Sinn Féin, I welcome the opportunity to update the Dáil on the ongoing proactive work the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána are doing to both raise awareness of the dangers and illegality of fireworks and to combat their importation, sale and use.
A counter motion setting out the current and future work of the Government in respect of this has been tabled and I will, with the agreement of the house, take the counter motion as read.
At the outset, I want to assure members that the Government is committed to ensuring Ireland is a safe and secure place for all. The well-being of our communities is a priority and we want members of the public to be confident and secure in going about their lives at all times of the year.
I share the concerns raised about the misuse of fireworks. Deputies will appreciate, that at this time of year, combating the abuse of fireworks presents additional challenge for authorities. But I can assure Deputies that these challenges are factored into annual work plans and appropriate resources are in place to address them.
That said, Minister McEntee and I are all too conscious of the numerous incidents, and sadly some serious accidents arising from the use of illegal fireworks.
Every year in the run up to Halloween both my Department and An Garda Síochána, together with local authorities and the emergency services, engage in additional work to try and keep everyone safe and to raise awareness of the dangers associated with improper use of fireworks.
Just today, Minister McEntee launched the Department of Justice’s annual fireworks awareness campaign. We are asking people thinking about using and buying fireworks to think again and not to add to the problems already faced by so many in our communities during the pandemic.
Our emergency services are battling Covid-19.
We owe it to them this Halloween not to unnecessarily increase the pressure they are facing by filling emergency rooms with preventable injuries, caused by the use of illegal fireworks.
Our elderly neighbours, already worried about the pandemic and who have cocooned and restricted their movements, do not need the extra worry of fireworks going off near their homes.
So, when it comes to fireworks, we are saying to people: Don’t add to the problem.
Nobody disagrees with the fact that fireworks are explosives which can maim and even kill. Nor will anyone contest the fact that fireworks are dangerous in untrained and unlicensed hands.
They also cause distress for pets and livestock.
What we cannot agree with is the suggestion that the Government and An Garda Síochána are not proactively addressing these issues. It is not correct to infer that the increased use of fireworks is as a result of lacking resources or action on the part of the Garda Authorities or that the Gardaí are not working closely with local communities to deal with this in an appropriate way.
We have strong legislation dealing with the importation, sale and use of illegal fireworks. An Garda Síochána have already launched their Halloween policing plan known as ‘Operation Tombola’. This year it was launched a month early in Dublin in recognition of the increased use of fireworks.
The sale or use of fireworks by unlicensed people is not only incredibly dangerous - it is illegal. Government policy restricts the availability of all hazardous fireworks to the general public. Licences under the Explosives Act are issued by the Department of Justice only for the importation of fireworks to be used in organised displays conducted by professional and competent operators.
The penalties for misusing fireworks go right up to fines of €10,000 and 5 years in prison. The penalties are high because the dangers are real.
As well as the power to make arrests for the possession of unlicensed fireworks, Gardaí have available a number of strong legislative provisions to combat anti-social behaviour more generally, including
•the Criminal Damage Act 1991;
•Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994;
•the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2003; and
•the Intoxicating Liquor Acts 2003 and 2008.
Deputies should acknowledge the significant efforts made all year, but redoubled at this time, by An Garda Síochána to combat the importation, sale and use of illegal fireworks.
“Operation Tombola” runs across the country to the end of October. It focuses on combating the illegal importation, sale and use of fireworks and also ensures appropriate policing plans are in place over this period. Each district has its own plan focusing on preventing public disorder and anti-social behaviour through the deployment of resources, including Garda Public Order Units to augment local plans as appropriate.
As well as recognising this work, I ask the House to also recognise the close and ongoing co-operation between the Police Service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Síochána.
Mechanisms are in place which provide a good overarching framework for cooperation between the two forces which supports law enforcement efforts and allow the policing services to identify the appropriate and most effective response in all matters, including the movement of illegal fireworks across the border.
In fact, Minister McEntee was informed by the Commissioner that this specific issue will be discussed at the strategic level at a forthcoming meeting of the Cross Border Joint Agency Task Force Strategic Oversight Group in the coming days.
In terms of Garda resources, its key to note that it is the Commissioner who is responsible for managing and controlling An Garda Síochána and for the allocation and efficient use of Garda resources. This includes decisions regarding the allocation and deployment of Garda personnel nationwide.
The Commissioner and his management team are best placed to make the expert judgments necessary about where to place Garda resources. It would not be appropriate to substitute our judgement for that of the Commissioner and his management team.
That said, I can assure Deputies that the Government is committed to continuing to train new recruits to An Garda Síochána annually. Funding has been provided to An Garda Síochána in Budget 2020 for the recruitment of up to 700 Gardaí, and additional Garda staff, the balance of which will be for the Commissioner to decide based on identified operational demands.
The Programme for Government gives priority to more visible policing in rural and urban communities and the removal of Garda Members from administrative, technical and other non-core duties, to allow them focus on policing matters.
A key commitment in ‘A Policing Service for the Future’ is the rollout of An Garda Síochána’s new Operating Model which reorganises resources around the delivery of frontline policing, placing an increased emphasis on engaging with communities and supporting victims of crime. This will further strengthen community policing and engagement, and provide a more localised, responsive policing service for each Division nationwide.
I also draw attention to the Government’s plan to bring the full range of community-based youth justice interventions together in a way that allows for interventions to be tailored to the needs of local communities and the specific challenges posed by young people in those communities. The Youth Justice Strategy will set out specific commitments which it is intended will be brought to Government before the end of the year.
We all agree that fireworks present more dangers than many seem to realise. These include dangers associated with explosion, which can injure, main or even kill, not to mention the negative impacts on our communities well-being. In light of Covid 19, the Government is aware that now more than ever, it is particularly importance that all steps are taken to prevent additional strain on the resources of Hospitals which could result from preventable firework related injuries.
The Government and An Garda Síochána are committed to combatting the sale and use of unlicensed Fireworks and to addressing related anti-social behaviour. We are working proactively together to do this – this year more than ever - and I ask that the House support the Government motion tabled to reflect this.