Costello demands action on North Inner City Task Force

14 July 2016

by Cllr Joe Costello

I reiterate the call made by Labour Party Leader Brendan Howlin in the Dáil today that the government must urgently deliver on its commitment to establish a task force to tackle crime and economic disadvantage in Dublin’s North Inner City.

The rise in gang land crime in the North Inner City demonstrates the urgent need to tackle the root causes of crime in the area. The effort to tackle crime must be broad based and focus on education, social supports and job opportunities.

It is essential the task force also focuses on the international dimension of crime in the North Inner City. Irish criminal gangs now operate on a transnational basis. I have called for the Criminal Assets Bureau to have an international focus so that it can work with EUROPOL and INTERPOL to seize the assets of Irish criminals abroad.

The people of the North Inner City were promised a task force would be delivered and real change in the community would follow. It is now two months since the Taoiseach promised a task force and little progress has been made. The government must honour this commitment.