Fianna Fáil local election candidate Rachel Hartigan is calling for Clare County Council to follow the example of Dublin City Council to tackle problematic laneways in the county.
Elected representatives in the capital took the decision to extinguish the public right of way on Harbour Court, a laneway linking Abbey Street, Marlborough Street and the Quays, following persistent antisocial behaviour and drug use.
The decision, it is hoped, will be reversed when conditions improve. Ardnacrusha’s Rachel Hartigan, who is running in this year’s local elections in the Shannon Municipal District, believes taking strong action like this should also be considered in this county.
“The move to close this laneway is not one taken lightly by the councillors in Dublin City, but in cases like this, extreme action is often the only way to tackle a problem,” said Hartigan.
“Practically every town and city in the country has laneways like this unfortunately, and I’ve seen them first-hand in my own municipal district – and these and others in the county have been raised by councillors in local authority meetings already, so they are well documented.
Hartigan continued: “For the majority of people, these laneways and alleys are shortcuts to get to and from school, or the shop – but they’re more often than not poorly lit and poorly maintained, meaning the draw in anti-social behaviour particularly at night.
“Nobody should be intimidated walking through their home town but it is an extremely vulnerable feeling to traverse these lanes after dark and quite simply, it isn’t safe.
“That is why I think looking at closing off public access to some of these hotspots should be considered.
“It’s not a simple process to close them off to the public legally but, as has been shown in Dublin, it is possible and is something that I believe elected representatives in Clare should give consideration to.
“This doesn’t mean it’ll be a permanent closure of these lanes, and that shouldn’t be the case, because they’ve been there for generations – but to tackle the problematic behaviour that is far too often seen, it’s important to take strong action.
“I would like to see them closed until such a time that proper maintenance work is carried out, lighting installed, and other safety measures put in place so that, in time, they can reopen and be safe for all users once again.”
