Harris to 'immediately convene' Dublin city centre task force to tackle violence
Fine Gael Leader Minister Simon Harris TD after his party address at the 82nd Fine Gael Ard Fheis at the University of Galway. Picture Dan Linehan
Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said he will “immediately convene” a Dublin city centre task force to tackle violence when he becomes Taoiseach.
He said this body – comprising gardaí, businesses and community groups - will “chart a path towards a safer and vibrant Dublin”.
The incoming Taoiseach said that last November the country witnessed “thugs and criminals” set fire to the capital, destroying shops and garda cars “without a care in the world”.
It is not clear how the promised task force will work alongside existing the Dublin City Joint Policing Committee – which comprise gardaí, local authorities, city councillors, businesses and community representatives.
The Government’s central policing reform legislation, the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act, which was passed last February, will see the replacement of the JPCs across the country with new Community Safety Partnerships as part of a new national structure.
In a section of his speech covering security issues, Mr Harris said Fine Gael would “always stand for law and order”.
He said: “We stand for more gardaí, with more powers and more resources to make our streets safe.” Under Budget 2024, the Government provided funding for the recruitment of between 800 and 1,000 student gardaí.
Earlier this month, 165 new recruits entered the organisation, bringing total strength to almost 14,100, the highest since February 2023.
But the Government still has a way to go before it reaches the recent height of 14,750 in March 2020.
The Garda Budget for 2024 reached a “record” allocation of €2.31bn, up from €2.14bn in 2023.
On garda powers, Mr Harris said body cameras for gardaí would be in place by the summer along with up-to-date technology to support gardaí. The body cameras are being piloted in four garda divisions.
The incoming Taoiseach said Fine Gael stood for “tougher sentences” for those who commit horrific crimes.
“We will fast track legislation to give judges new power to make sure heinous criminals serve long sentences before they can ever even be considered for release,” he said.
This refers to planned legislation that was first announced by Justice Minister Helen McEntee in March 2022 and is promised for this year.
Under the plans, judges will have the legal power to impose minimum terms - of between 15 and 30 years - that an offender must serve in cases of murder, rape, sexual assault or child sexual abuse before they can even be considered for parole.
The plans were adopted after lengthy campaigning by victims’ groups.
Mr Harris also said in his speech that the Government would “continue to increase prison capacity”.
The Prison Officers’ Association and the Irish Prison Service have been warning of a looming overcrowding crisis for years – a crisis, as revealed in the Irish Examiner, that has accelerated this year, with numbers at record levels and about to breach the 5,000 mark.
Mr Harris said the Criminal Assets Bureau, which Fine Gael established in 1996 following the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin in June 1996, would get more powers, under existing proposals, “to strip criminals of assets more quickly”.
The Fine Gael leader said “new measures” would be brought forward this year to increase penalties for knife crime and anti-social behaviour, which he said had become “too dominant” in communities.
These measures are thought to stem from the work of the Anti-Social Behaviour Forum, set up in September 2021 by Minister of State in the Department of Justice, James Browne.
Earlier this year, when talking about this forum, Ms McEntee said there was already a “comprehensive and robust legal framework” in relation to knife crime, including heavy penalties.
She said it was a complex issue and that there were “no quick fixes” to tackling knife crime.
Mr Harris also mentioned the ongoing issue of children who were being “groomed into a life a crime through the scourge of drugs” in society.
In relation to the Defence Forces, Mr Harris said the Government would “do more to support and resource our defence forces”, before stressing it was “the only Óglaigh na hÉireann”.
But he did not add to this statement or detail where the Government was at regarding its commitment to implement the second of three options outlined by the Commission on Defence Forces, published in February 2022.
Under this option the Government pledged to increase the annual budget to €1.5bn by 2028, up from €1.1bn in 2022. The budget stood at €1.23bn in 2024.
The commitment includes the net recruitment of 2,000 personnel and the provision of nine double-crewed ships by 2030, with the Naval Service currently provided with two operational ships, but only one is on-patrol.
Mr Harris spoke at some length in relation to immigration, pointing out that Ireland was “a country of emigration” and that this had shaped the country.
“But people are now coming to this country in search of that better life," he said.
He said Ireland will sign up to the “biggest overhaul of migration rules in decades” referring to the decision announced at the end of last month that Ireland will opt-in to the EU Migration Pact.
“This will result in a firmer system," he said. "It will ensure those who need our help get it, but we're also ensure that those who are not entitled to come to this country, get a decision more quickly and quite frankly, leave more quickly, as well.” He said the country needed “to move away” from the emergency use of hotels for housing asylum seekers, and said he believed the Government now had a plan.
He said: “But implementation will be key and engagement with communities essential and leadership across government. We need to listen to people.” Mr Harris did not make reference to the arson attacks on asylum accommodation centres or the threat posed by far-right agitators.
He said Irish people wanted to play their part in assisting asylum seekers: “Irish people want to help. They already are.” The incoming Taoiseach said Ireland stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine, adding: "We know war is a darkness that threatens all of our democracies and all of our European values."
He said this has posed "real challenges" for Ireland but strongly endorsed Ireland's support for Ukraine against Russian aggression.
"Taking in families fleeing the war has brought significant pressures," he said, "but it is the right thing to do and Ireland, a proud and committed member of the European Union, will always stand with the people of Ukraine".
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