A 14-year-old girl has been charged by gardai in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, in connection with last weekend's incident in the town when a 12-year-old German girl was injured as youths robbed her at the East Pier. Further arrests are expected. It is understood that nine young people have been questioned about the incident. The girl was released yesterday into the custody of her parents but will appear before the next sitting of Dun Laoghaire district juvenile court.
Controversy surrounded the robbery when it was reported the German girl had been slashed in the face with a bottle. However, it later emerged she had fallen while resisting the theft of her bag and had cut her face.
Local politicians, the Harbour company, the local chamber of commerce, residents, business interests, the DART station manager and gardai, held a meeting yesterday in response. Following the meeting, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has decided to write to the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, insisting CCTV be provided in the town.
In a statement, the council cathaoirleach, Ms Mary Elliott, strongly supported the call for CCTV and said she would write to Mr O'Donoghue "to insist that the provision of CCTV in Dun Laoghaire would be prioritised by his Department".
Ms Anne Joyce, an executive member of the business association, said she was "quite satisfied" after the meeting as all parties had agreed positive action had to be taken against "loutish" behaviour in the town.
"It has to be stressed that the incident with the young German girl was an isolated incident and not racially motivated.
"However, there is a serious problem of drinking on streets in the town by young people and measures have to be introduced to tackle the petty crime and loutish behaviour that is going on as a result," she said.
Ms Joyce said the council had also agreed to consider the introduction of a by-law in the town to enable the gardai to confiscate drink from people in the streets.
"The council have been drafting the by-law since last November but we have been assured it will be on the agenda for the next council meeting." Meanwhile, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Mr Brendan Howlin, has called for a special meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice to examine the issue of youth violence. "Violence, committed by young people usually against young people, is becoming an increasingly common and nasty feature of Irish life," he said. Ms Frances Fitzgerald (FG) said a proper register of unprovoked attacks should be established in every regional health authority area and in every Garda station so trends could be examined.
The Sinn Fein representative for Dun Laoghaire, Mr Michael Nolan, claimed the attack represented "yet another depressing manifestation of the rising tide of racism in the country".