ENNIS is viewed as a “lucrative” market for professional beggars, elected representatives have claimed.
Calls for an investigation by An Garda Síochána and Revenue into “what appears to be organised street begging” was requested by Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) at Tuesday’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District.
Businesses based in the town centre have voiced their belief that it is organised street begging, this view is shared by Ennis MD councillors.
Senior executive officer, Leonore O’Neill advised that the Ennis MD “does not have authority to instruct or advise another State agency on the particulars of how to carry out that agency’s role”. She explained that a complaint could be filed with the Gardaí or raised via the Joint Policing Committee.
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, Cllr Flynn noted the brewing concern. “Ennis is one of the safest towns in the country, I’m very proud of what our Gardaí are doing locally but criminality has to be called out”.
He added, “This is systematic, retailers see these individuals being dropped off and told the different locations to beg at, some of them are collecting €150-200 per day, this is very significant money”. Flynn said both Garda sources and local businesses are aware of the issues, “We’re told that they are not locals or not homeless in Ennis”. He claimed, “if it wasn’t lucrative, they wouldn’t be doing it” and flagged that female business people were “confronted by these people in their doorways”.
An intervention from Gardaí is needed to see why the activity is taking place, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) maintained. “The generosity of the people of Ennis has been taken advantage of, these are not local people and they are not homeless, if it was not lucrative for them to do this and be more productive in our society, then they would not be doing it”.
Previous attempts from Gardaí to remove the beggars have prompted a negative reaction from the public, she recalled. “We need to be mindful that these people are not as we think. Your generosity is not well placed, our country is well founded on protecting the vulnerable, we have a strong social welfare system, begging on the streets is not necessary for these people”.
“It is organised, that is the reality,” Cllr Mary Howard (FG) said firmly. “We have found out and are aware that they are not locals, they are not homeless”. She encouraged members of the public who want to help people in need to support organisations such as Mid-West Simon or give a cup of tea and sandwich rather than cash to people on the streets.
Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Ann Norton (IND) acknowledged that begging “is an issue” in Ennis. “Nobody wants to see people in the type of situation where they can’t afford to eat or provide for their families. We live in a country where there is a lot of social welfare payments, we have a good system to support people, I would hate to think people are coming in from other counties and begging, this money is being taken away from a huge amount of charities that are collecting on a day to day basis”.
This is not a new activity, Cllr Pat Daly (FF) outlined. “Begging is going on in this town since I was a young fella, you would always know the genuine people. Organised street begging is illegal like and it is needs to be dealt with, I would hope the Gardaí investigate it”.
