Whole communities in Dublin are dealing with long-term trauma due to ongoing criminality, violence and addiction issues.

That’s according to Sinn Féin Councillor Daithí Doolan who yesterday told Dublin City Council's Joint Policing Committee that some communities are "teetering on the edge of lawlessness."

The councillor also told the committee that residents are afraid to go Gardaí as they don't trust them.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Cllr Doolan said some parts of Dublin are 'communities in trauma', similar to conflict zones.

“We’re not talking about individuals in trauma but whole families and whole communities in trauma from intergenerational issues caused perhaps by drug-related intimidation, addiction, unemployment, mental health, violence, criminality.

“If that happens over and over and over again in a concentrated area then people end up living with trauma.

“They are living with violence or the threat of violence all the time and that manifests itself in very clear ways.”

He said the trauma is rooted in drug-related intimidation, mental health problems, addiction and criminality.

“It doesn’t have to be on a nightly basis,” he said.

“It can be every week or every few weeks. You can have the robbed car syndrome, where there are cars tearing up and down the road.

“The gardaí can’t pursue them. They have a policy of non-pursuing because they feel they make the situation worse.

“The scramblers, the robbed bikes, the drug-related intimidation and some of the chaos that goes along with addiction.”

Cllr Doolan said dedicated long-term funding is needed to tackle intergenerational problems in certain communities around the city.

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