Government pledges €10m for policing in Dublin following attacks

Helen McEntee

The supplementary funding will increase the Garda’s overtime budget. According to the Department of Justice, this would provide 240,000 additional Garda man hours, or 20,000 extra shifts, in the Dublin Metropolitan Region until the end of the year.

The initiative follows pressure on the Government and Garda following last week’s attack on American tourist Stephen Termini, 57. Yesterday, two teenage boys were arrested and charged in connection with the attack, following the charging of a 14-year-old boy last weekend.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee has told Garda Commissioner Drew Harris that the €10 million fund is “exclusively” available for overtime in Dublin. Her plan is deemed a direct response to the public outrage triggered by the attack on Mr Termini on Talbot Street in north central Dublin last week. Mr Termini, from Buffalo, New York, remains in intensive care due to potentially life-altering head injuries.

Ms McEntee said: “Dublin is a great city to live in, work in and visit and I am committed to increasing the number of gardaí on our streets to ensure people feel safe and to build stronger, safer communities.”

Addressing the rising violence in Dublin’s north inner city, including serious attacks and the apparent growth of violent teenage street gangs, Ms McEntee announced that the new community safety partnership for the area would publish its safety plan. She said the plan would “bring together a range of agencies, groups and organisations to improve safety,” acknowledging that community safety was “not an issue” solely for the force.

Earlier this week, Talbot Street traders told The Irish Times that they thought the area was unsafe and called for an immediate policing response. Some traders claimed that during lockdown periods, gangs of mostly teenage boys had taken control of deserted streets. They suggested these gangs were now attempting to retain dominance in the area through violent attacks.