PRESS RELEASE

22/11/2005

Cabinet boost for ASBOs but British model must be avoided - Kelleher

Cork North-Central Fianna Fáil TD Billy Kelleher has said his backing for anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) received new impetus today after the Cabinet approved the measures as part of the crackdown on nuisance crime such as vandalism and intimidation.

Deputy Kelleher, assistant government chief whip, said the Cabinet’s approval for ASBOs signals the Government’s determination to rid our streets of anti-social behaviour and protect the right of citizens to live in peace.

He urged the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell TD, to outline in detail his plans for ASBOs and to avoid the British model which he described as ‘flawed’.

‘I have consistently said that ASBOs should only be used as a last resort. We must avoid directly coping the British model. Only senior gardaí should be able to apply to the courts for an ASBO - not constables or local authority officers like in Britain.

‘I believe the duration of the orders should be for a maximum of two years - and not a minimum of two years like in Britain. Minister McDowell has said the maximum prison term for breaching an ASBO should be six months - and not five years under the Britain model.

‘ASBOs must not be used to target youths or marginalised people. They should be backed up by ancillary support services and restorative justice programmes that seek to integrate the offender back into the community peacefully,’ said Deputy Kelleher, who earlier this year travelled to Leicester, England, where he saw how ASBOs had transformed whole communities.

Deputy Kelleher also welcomed Cabinet approval for the tightening of gun laws and the creation create mandatory minimum sentences of between five and 10 years for certain firearms offences.

‘These measures should ensure that the criminal law is updated and strengthened in several key areas. It is important that we strengthen the hand of gardaí in dealing with firearms offences,’ said Deputy Kelleher.

ENDS