Fine Gael has blamed the Government's liberalising of the drinking laws for a rise in street violence.
The party's spokesman on Justice Mr John Deasy said it was "outrageous" for the Minister for Justice Mr McDowell to "flag the Criminal Justice Bill...when he knows that the already over-stretched Garda will not be provided with the necessary resources to meet the extra demand."
Speaking at the launch of the Salthill Business Watch scheme in Galway last night Mr McDowell expressed his concern at the growing level of drunken street crime and said he was determined to stamp it out.
He said the new Criminal Justice Bill would give the Garda additional powers to deal with such disorder.
"Minister McDowell has made a great show of being tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime, but in reality the much-hyped Criminal Justice (Public Order) Bill is not worth the paper it is written on if Garda resources are not increased to meet demand," Mr Deasy added.
