Dublin city centre is no longer safe. That is a statement of reality. People who live, work and visit our capital city have been robbed of their sense of safety and this has been the case for some time. Ask anyone who walks through the city centre and they will tell you they do so either with their heads down or looking over their shoulder. Those who live in the inner city could write the book on just how unsafe our streets have become. The everyday climate of danger has taken root, not least because of the lack of Garda presence on the ground.

Over the past two weeks, we have had serious incidents that have added to people's feeling of danger and fear. The horrific knife attacks in Stoneybatter last Sunday week in which three people were injured left the community reeling. Then on Saturday a man was fatally stabbed on South Anne Street in the aftermath of a public order incident. Adding to public concern is that those arrested for these attacks had been on bail for other serious offences. The man arrested for the attacks in Stoneybatter was facing charges in relation to a drug seizure, while two of the men arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing on Saturday have been on bail for other serious offences.

This is not the first time this issue has arisen. I am sure the Taoiseach is aware of a number of high-profile, serious cases where the perpetrators had been on bail for other offences. People are now asking why it is that so many serious crimes are being committed by people who have been released on bail. They are asking whether our bail laws are adequate and properly enforced. People are also asking how individuals who have been involved with serious crime in other countries are able to be here in Ireland. There is a real sense that public safety and the right of every person to go about their lives without fear have been undermined by neglect and the failure of Government to respond to the reality on the ground. Knife crime and the carrying of knives now present a clear and present danger to the public.

While the Minister for Justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, has stated that parts of Dublin are unsafe, he has failed to specify which parts. The reality is that we have had years of failure and of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil policies on crime prevention, community safety and rehabilitation.

Ní mór don Rialtas plean a leagan amach chun Baile Átha Cliath a dhéanamh níos sábháilte do gach duine a bhfuil cónaí orthu sa chathair, a bhíonn ag obair anseo nó a thagann ar cuairt. We need more gardaí on our streets and more investment in community, youth services, youth diversion programmes, rehabilitation and in our probation services. We need to reform our bail laws urgently. We need a response to knife crime and the carrying of knives, which is now endemic. The price of Government failure in all of these areas has been high, too high for too many. What is the Government's response to this lack of safety? What will be done to make Dublin, in particular, safe again?

Ar dtús báire, is mian liom a rá gur uafásach ar fad é an méid atá tar éis tarlú, ní hamháin in Stoneybatter ach i rith an deireadh seachtaine. Déanaim comhbhrón le clann Quham Babatunde a fhuair bás agus leis an duine a bhí gortaithe mar aon leis sin. Níl sé sásúil gan amhras in aon chor. Tá plean ag an Rialtas agus ag an Aire Dlí agus Cirt, an Teachta Jim O’Callaghan chun an méid gardaí atá ann a mhéadú agus a dhéanamh níos láidre, chomh maith le dlíthe eile a thabhairt isteach. Beidh níos mó gardaí ar na sráideanna san am atá le teacht. Tá na huimhreacha ag méadú. Níl aon amhras faoi sin. Is olc an scéal é, áfach, nach bhfuil daoine in ann dul ag obair nó dul timpeall na sráideanna gan an baol agus dainséir seo go mbeidh ionsaí ann. Is uafásach ar fad é.

I thank Deputy McDonald for raising this important issue with me. My thoughts are with the deceased, Quham Babatunde, and his family and friends, and the other victims. We also think of the victims of the attack in Stoneybatter, which was an appalling attack on people going about their daily lives leaving their homes and walking along the streets.

One has to condemn the level of violence involved. We must be very clear and absolutely intolerant of people carrying knives in their possession if they go out for a night's recreation. This is a growing phenomenon. It is reprehensible and is putting the lives of people in danger. There is a wider societal piece we must focus on in respect of all the factors that give rise to the level of violence we are experiencing and which individuals are getting involved in.

The Deputy raises a valid question regarding the bail laws. It is clear to me that people should not be granted bail if there is a risk they might commit a serious crime or offence. The bail laws have been comprehensively strengthened in recent years by a series of Acts in 2007, 2015 and 2024 in terms of increased penalties. The Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation Act 2024 increases the penalties for several knife-related offences under the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990. That includes an increase of five to seven years in the maximum sentence for the offences of possession of a knife, trespassing with a knife and producing a knife to unlawfully intimidate another.

In respect of our bail laws, the decision to grant bail in a particular case, as the Deputy knows, is solely a matter for the judge. There are various guidelines the court must have regard to, particularly any persistent serious offending by an applicant and, in specific circumstances, the nature and likelihood of any danger to a person or to the community arising from the granting of bail. I accept we must keep the bail laws under constant review for both the constitutional rights of individuals but also the rights of citizens, victims and potential victims of people who commit crime on bail. That is something the Government will continue to assess. If we can make it tighter, we will, but obviously in a way that is constitutionally allowed. The bottom line is there is no tolerance on the Government side in respect of these crimes. They are reprehensible and should be condemned.

Aontaím leis an Taoiseach gur olc an scéal é gan dabht. Cén plean atá ag an Rialtas? Tá sé soiléir nach bhfuil an plean ceart aige. Dithering in the face of all this is not a sufficient response from the Government. I could write a lengthy thesis on the underlying causes of crime - the poverty, the lack of investment and the lack of opportunity. We could all do that but we are facing a situation now where in Dublin in particular, but also elsewhere, people simply do not feel safe. The Taoiseach says there is zero tolerance of knife crime. Tell that to people on the street. The fact is knife crime and the carrying of knives is now endemic. What is the Taoiseach and the Government going to do about this? We cannot afford a laissez-faire approach in respect of the granting of bail. I know it is at the discretion of the judge but if the guidelines are clearly failing, if they are inadequate, and where you have serial offenders out on bail offending again, surely to God Government needs to take a stand on that.

There is no laissez-faire. Níl sé sin fíor. We have a robust legal framework to deal with knife crime. As I said, in September we increased the maximum penalty. There is a proactive policing operation to seize knives. There has been an increase in the number of knives being seized each year and that proactivity will continue. Again, we have to support the Garda. We have to give more resources. There is good CCTV of the violent disorder in South Anne Street, for example, but our Garda force should be able to use facial recognition technology. That was opposed in the previous Oireachtas. I hope the Opposition will support the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, when we bring legislation of that type forward and other legislation designed to strengthen gardaí on the front line, especially body-worn cameras, the proof-of-concept phase of which is under way in Dublin, Waterford and Limerick.

We want to roll these out to all gardaí on the front line. There has not always been a welcome for such measures in this House, if the truth be told, but there will be total proactivity. Numbers have increased by 40% in the Dublin metropolitan area over the past-----

We will move to Deputy Bacik.