Garda recruitment issues must be dealt with to address the "crime epidemic" in Dublin city, a TD has said.
Fianna Fáil justice spokesperson Jim O'Callaghan told BreakingNews.ie: "For the past year I've been aware of gratuitous acts of violence being perpetrated on people in Dublin city centre for no reason other than the fact they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"You can't speak in generalisations that a city is safe or unsafe, but my own view is that there are parts of the city centre which are unsafe during certain times of the day."
Mr O'Callaghan said the recent attacks on a US tourist and three British tourists in the city centre have highlighted a problem that has been spiralling since the Covid lockdowns.
"This isn't something new that has happened just in respect of tourists. I've received a lot of complaints and heard a lot of stories about people who were subjected to attacks in the city centre. Particularly guys in their early 20s being attacked, some were homophobic reasons but very many in the wrong place at the wrong time."
He also highlighted criminal acts being carried out "during the day and night in open view" in the city centre.
"The prime example of that is if you go down by the quays you see people dealing drugs in the city centre, sometimes you see fights between people who are involved in this criminal activity. That's not resulting in innocent bystanders being attacked, but it does create the impression that you can engage in criminal activity in the centre of Dublin and nothing is going to happen to you."
While he highlighted a lack of gardaí as a key issue, Mr O'Callaghan said there are a number of "complex problems" facing Dublin including a "big addiction problem".
"You don't see the same level of police visibility or activity as you see in other European cities.
"I'm conscious gardaí are doing the best they can... their numbers are limited, we're down to 13,800 gardaí which is the same as what we had 20 years ago and our population has gone up from around 3.9 million to over 5 million."
Biden visit
Mr O'Callaghan said a number of people had asked him why the huge garda presence in the city during US president Joe Biden's recent visit to Ireland cannot be a more regular occurrence.
"I would call on the commissioner to ensure that we get more gardaí out on the streets in the city centre. It's not the solution to everything, but it will deter people involved in criminal activity. It's also going to make residents, shoppers and tourists feel much safer when they see a garda presence around."
He said terms and conditions for gardaí should be reviewed to attract more people.
"Government may be hesitant because if you change terms and conditions for gardaí you will have to look at other professions in the public sector, so I can understand why there's a hesitancy around that. However, what we can't allow to happen is that numbers in the gardaí start declining in the same way they declined in the Defence Forces."
He said the Garda Reserve should be built up, adding that it has been underutilised.
"One issue we should be looking at, and a lot of responsibility rests with the commissioner in respect to this, we have a Garda Reserve which has not really been promoted enthusiastically by the State or gardaí.
"We only have 371 members in the Garda Reserve. We really should be using them more, even to police the inner city or as back up to gardaí in cities around the country, and we don't use them. We've got to start thinking innovatively."
Mr O'Callaghan also suggested a recruitment campaign to try and attract Irish people in Australia to come home to pursue careers with An Garda Síochána.
Two garda recruits were sent home over tattoos recently, prompting a public debate on the issue.
Simply because someone has a tattoo does not mean they won't be a good garda.
Mr O'Callaghan described the decision as "absurd".
"We're not in a position to start turning around and saying 'we don't want these recruits'.
"The pressure is on us to get people in, simply because someone has a tattoo does not mean they won't be a good garda. Fashions have changed, people now have tattoos much more than 20 years ago."
He also said the age limit for people joining An Garda Síochána should be increased from 35, along with retirement age being upped from 60 to 63.
"We need to get on top of this problem before it gets really bad. Government have provided financial resources to recruit 1,000 gardaí this year, we're not going to get that. I got statistics recently showing the number of people resigning and retiring from the force is increasing on an annual basis.
"Another thing is the garda fitness test, a lot of people failing. One thing the Army do well is you don't have to pass a particularly vigorous fitness test, but once you join they keep you fit. Gardaí should get people in and work them when they are.
"There is low morale in the force. Sometimes gardai mention to me they are afraid of doing their job because of excessive supervision from Gsoc.
"I do think we probably need to re-balance that in a way so that minor complaints against gardaí don't end up at Gsoc. Obviously we need an independent statutory body to investigate serious allegations of misconduct against gardai, but minor complaints should be dealt with within the force I think."
While debate about a mayor for Dublin is a contentious issue, Mr O'Callaghan said he feels it could help.
"With Dublin there is nobody directly involved in it. I know people are hesitant about getting a mayor for Dublin, but I've given a lot of thought to this, and I think if you had a mayor who had responsibility for policing, not operational responsibility, but the same way the London mayor has responsibility for certain strategic planning for policing.
"We need to ensure Dublin is a great place for people to visit, live in and shop in.
"Ultimately if you ask who is responsible for Dublin? In fairness the justice minister is responsible for the whole country, the Government is too, but Dublin is such a large international city that we need to look at the governing structure for Dublin, and it would benefit with from a mayor with strong abilities to get things done promptly."
He concluded: "Acts of violence against tourists are getting a lot of attention internationally and that is bad for Dublin's reputation.
"The policy issue here is there is a recruitment crisis in An Garda Síochána, we'll never see a Dublin completely crime free but the primary way of trying to combat that is a visible policing presence in your city centre.
"We're finding it difficult due to the recruitment crisis and there's an obligation on Government to respond promptly."
