A Dublin Councillor has said more prison places would do more to cut anti-social behaviour than a “ridiculous” curfew. 

Following a number of high profile reports of anti-social behaviour, the CEO of Dublin Town has said a curfew should be considered in order to stop petty criminals from “influencing other kids into more dangerous activities”. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, Cllr Mannix Flynn said that local authorities are “in denial” about the extent of the problem of antisocial behaviour in the city - but rejected Dublin Town’s solution. 

 “We know that people have been in denial for quite some time and telling us that it’s a perception that the city’s unsafe, that there’s a feeling of unsafety, that there’s a feeling of hostility in the city,” he said. 

“That there’s huge crime and that individuals who are selling drugs are on fast drugs to escape from An Garda Síochána. 

“Again, you mentioned the assaults that took place in Temple Bar in recent days and weeks - and I hope that those individuals recover.” 

Gardaí in Dublin. Picture by: Eamonn Farrell/ RollingNews.ie.

Despite this, Cllr Flynn branded the idea of a curfew as “kind of ridiculous”. 

“How are you going to police it? How are you going to police it when An Garda Síochána don’t have the resources,” he said.

Cllr Flynn continued that the criminal justice system needs to get better at dealing with what he dubbed the “social terrorism” plaguing his constituents. 

“Any other country would deal with this sharply but we seem to be dealing with it in a very dysfunctional manner, in a very stupid manner,” he said. 

“What we get is kind of crap like, ‘Oh, we’ll open up a Garda Station on O’Connell Street’ and then you realise it’s a spectacle. 

“It’s a fake Garda Station.” 

Members of the Garda Public Order Unit. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie.

Cllr Flynn added that there should be “zero tolerance” for petty crime. 

“We need to stamp out this situation and at the end of the day, local authorities, An Garda Síochána, the Minister for Justice and, indeed, the Prison Services,” he said. 

“If we need more spaces for prison, then unfortunately, we’re going to have to provide them.

“The main bottom line here is that we have an obligation to protect our citizens.”

Main image: Gardaí on patrol. Picture by: RollingNews.ie.