Minister: ASBOs in Ireland 'last resort'
Only a senior Garda officer will be able to apply to a District Court Judge for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order under new Government proposals, it was confirmed tonight.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said ASBOs would be a last, rather than a first, resort under his plans and insisted parents would have to take more responsibility for their misbehaving children.
Under the proposals, parents and children could be forced to sign a ‘good behaviour contract’ and courts will have the power to order mothers and fathers to undertake parenting courses.
Mr McDowell said he would announce full details of his plans when they had received Government approval but he insisted there would be many differences between the proposed Irish system and the one employed in Britain.
“I would like to point out that the concept of anti-social behaviour orders is similar to the concept in the UK but it is there that any similarities end,” he said.
“My proposal will not reflect the UK law but will incorporate very important safeguards to ensure that the orders can be fairly and reasonably used for the benefit of the good of the community as a whole.
“An important overriding explicit principle will be that an application for an ASBO will be a last and not a first resort.”
Mr McDowell set out a number of features which will be unique to the Irish system:
:: “The definition of anti-social behaviour will not be the definition used in the UK which is very broad and I believe vulnerable to inappropriate use."
:: "I intend that only the gardaí can make an application to court for an ASBO and the applying Garda will have to be at least of the rank of superintendent."
:: "I intend that strict Garda guidelines on the appropriate use of ASBOs will be drawn up by the commissioner, approved by me and laid before both houses of the Oireachtas before the new powers can be deployed."
:: "To emphasise that an application to court for an ASBOs is to be a last resort, there will be an duty to formally caution respondents to cease the offending behaviour."
:: "I am also proposing that guidelines to the courts will be provided in the legislation on considerations to apply to the issue of orders."
:: "I also intend to provide that the court can grant legal aid to respondents in appropriate cases."
:: "The duration of the orders will be for a maximum of two years as opposed to a minimum of two years in the UK."
:: "Penalties for breach will be considerably less than in the UK, for example in the UK if an adult breaches an ASBO he or she can be liable to up to five years imprisonment. I consider this level of penalty to be excessive and I intend to provide for a maximum possibility of six months' imprisonment."
:: "Special provisions are being designed to deal with children, which will be fully integrated into the Children Act to ensure that all the safeguards of that act apply.”
Mr McDowell said a lot of the debate on ASBOs has focused on how they effect children but he insisted a series of steps must be pursued before an application can be made.
“A child who is behaving in an anti-social way must first be given a series of ‘street warnings’,” he said.
“If the behaviour continues the child and his or her parents will be invited to a meeting with the local superintendent who will draw up a good behaviour contract to be signed by parents and child.”
Mr McDowell said it is only if a child continues to behave anti-socially after being referred to a Garda Diversion Programme that the issue of an application to the Courts for an ASBO will arise.
The minister said he was also proposing special provisions for a separate type of order for children under 14 years who may be engaged in anti-social behaviour.
“The terms of the order will be different in that the Court will be empowered also to bind the parents over to ensure the child stops his or her offending behaviour,” he said.
“I believe that the court should put an onus on the parents in this respect but that the court can also seek to address the issues which arise for parents who lack the basic skills to deal with the child.
“I am proposing therefore that the court can make it a condition of the binding over order that the parents undertake a parenting course or engage with an appropriate authority or agency or undergo treatment to deal with addiction problems which might be at issue.”
Mr McDowell also said ASBOs for children will not be publicised.
“In summary I believe that anti-social behaviour orders used in a focused and sparing way will be of real and practical benefit to our society,” he said.
“I also believe that they will further augment the mechanisms available for early intervention to deal with children at risk and prevent their progression into more serious offending.”
