Dublin is “getting safer”, Jim O’Callaghan has said.
Responding to questions about public safety in the capital, the Justice Minister said crime statistics suggest that “assaults are down for the first six months of this year.”
He added that the number of Gardaí had recently been increased.
“A large capital city is always going to have incidents of criminal behaviour,” the Fianna Fáil TD said.
“But my own view is that Dublin’s getting safer.”
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Reflecting on people’s perceptions of the city, Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said the “under policed” capital urgently needs more Gardaí.
On Newstalk Breakfast, the MEP described himself as a “proud Dub” who wants others to feel the same way.
“I’ve always rejected the sense that Dublin isn’t safe but I feel sometimes politicians have to deal with perceptions as much as they have to deal with reality,” he said.
“If people feel the city isn’t safe and reports suggest it isn’t, then something has to be done about that.”
Mr Ó Ríordáin continued that the Dublin City Taskforce came up with some “very far reaching recommendations” and described the capital “underpoliced” compared to other parts of Europe.
“There’s one Guard for 373 citizens in Dublin,” he said.
“The average is one police officer for 293 across the European Union.”
Mr Ó Ríordáin added that Gardaí are “leaving the force in record numbers”.
“We also need a different level of policing that engages better with communities, with schools, with community leaders and also with young people,” he said.
“To understand more about their lives, about who they are, their dreams and their aspirations.”
Main image: Jim O'Callaghan. Picture by: Alamy.com.
