Communities in Dublin’s inner city are “sick and tired” of the “sense of threat and dread” that comes with anti-social behaviour, the leader of Sinn Féin has said.
Speaking in the Dáil during Leaders’ Questions, Mary Lou McDonald expressed her sympathies to the family of Neno Dolmajian, from Montreal in Canada, who died in hospital yesterday following an attack on O’Connell Street in the early hours of 23 June.
Mr Dolmajian sustained serious injuries and was taken to the Mater Hospital, where he passed away yesterday afternoon.
Four people have been arrested in connection with the attack and two men have appeared in court.
Ionut Danca, 24, with an address at Rathdown Square, North Circular Road, in Dublin and 23-year-old Madalin Ghiuzan, with an address at Summerhill Parade in Dublin, have both been charged with assault causing harm to Mr Dolmajian.
Both men have been refused bail at the Dublin District Court and remanded in custody.
Ms McDonald said Mr Dolmajian came to Dublin to experience all the greatness of the capital city and it is heartbreaking that he never went home.
“The communities of the inner city are sick and tired of the anti-social behaviour, the sense of threat and dread,” she said.
The Dublin Central TD said big promises were made in the aftermath of the Dublin riots last November, but these have not been delivered and the city is not safe.
She called for a proper, ongoing garda presence to make the inner city safe for everyone.
“You have left people very vulnerable and feeling unsafe,” she said.
The Taoiseach said said he was appalled at the attack on Mr Dolmajin.
Simon Harris said large numbers of people came to Dublin last weekend for Pride, GAA matches and concerts and that is the Dublin people are proud of.
He told the Dáil that there is a specific garda operation currently under way in Dublin which puts a focus on anti-social behaviour during the summer months.
The Taoiseach said out of the 157 gardaí who graduated from the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary last week, 102 have been assigned to Dublin.
‘Ireland becoming a dangerous place’ – Aonú
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín also offered his deepest sympathies to to the family of Mr Dolmajian.
Citing rising crime statistics, he said: “Ireland is becoming a dangerous place”.
The Government is soft on crime and the causes of crime, the deputy said, and he also condemned the suspended sentence Natasha O’Brien’s attacker received.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has lodged an appeal against the sentence.
“This is cynical nonsense,” he said of the Government’s response to gender-based violence.
“Sentences in this country are becoming more lenient,” Ms Tóibín asserted.
There has been a doubling in appeals for undue leniency in the past eight years, he said, citing a reply from the Minister for Justice to a Parliamentary Question.
In 2016, 22% of appeals were for undue leniency, while last year this was 42%.
“That’s a staggering change,” the deputy said.
Mr Tóibín said that the Minister for Justice admitted to him in the PQ that she is carefully selecting criminals to release early to make space for more criminals to put in.
Mr Harris responded by accusing the deputy of “constant misrepresentation” of the Minister for Justice and her position.
He said that he is concerned over rising violence in Ireland.
“This is a Government that has constantly supported garda recruitment,” he said, taking issue with the deputy’s characterisation of the coalition.
Mr Tóibín said that reference to “another task force” has “a Father Ted element”.
