Buck-passing fails to solve youth crime

PINNING down ministerial responsibility for combating Ireland’s joyriding crisis is like walking on quicksand.

A classic example of buck-passing between State departments has come to light in the Irish Examiner's on-going campaign to nail Coalition accountability for cracking down on the joyriders who plague urban communities.

On the face of it, Justice Minister Michael McDowell would be expected to bear full responsibility for such a contentious area of criminal activity, where fatalities have occurred in appalling circumstances as gardaí and innocent members of the public were mown down by stolen cars driven by children. In some instances, the lives of the perpetrators have been forfeit.