*Incidents of anti-social behaviour from Kilrush went viral.
PARTS of Kilrush have become “a red zone” due to the levels of criminal activity according to a county councillor who said the local authority will have to consider stopping the delivery of social housing until it can manage its present stock.
Chief Superintendent of the Clare and Tipperary Garda Division, Aileen Magner has been called upon to meet with elected members of the West Clare Municipal District, management of Clare County Council and relevant community and statutory agencies in the wake of a rise in anti-social behaviour in Kilrush.
Recent incidents in Kilrush “have caused significant concern” according to Cllr Ian Lynch (IND) with “disturbing material” circulating locally and within social media. Such footage included a brawl in daylight on Henry Street and the filming of Gardaí taking e-scooters from youths who appeared to be under the influence.
Magner has been asked by Cllr Lynch “to assist with the immediate reactivation of the public CCTV system in Kilrush, recognising its importance as a community safety and crime deterrent measure”. He said he was reluctant to raise such matters in the media but was frustrated with the absence of any progress over the last six months.
Senior executive officer in the West Clare MD, John O’Malley committed to bring the motion to the attention of the Clare Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP). The newly formed grouping meets behind closed doors.
Issues in Kilrush have spilled onto the streets, Cllr Lynch flagged, “it started off seriously and it ended up farcical. It is not a good image and it wasn’t an isolated incident. We as a Council have a huge input into this and a huge causation. This is going on for months and our solution was to call it a red zone which was not fair on people that were not causing the problems. We haven’t discussed this openly and it has not been resolved”.
Clare County Council needs to be stricter with its social housing tenants, he said. “A lot of it is back to our housing, where houses are not maintained, there are children running wild, our policy needs to be stricter, we are in the middle of a housing crisis and if you are privileged enough to have a social house and do not respect it then you should be moved out We’re not strong enough in moving people out”.
“A particular part of Kilrush is a red zone and it is boiling out onto the streets, if you have a house then you tidy it, I don’t want to see broken down cars or motrbikes outside social houses,” he stated.
Social housing needs to be seriously examined by the Council, Cllr Lynch stressed. “I’m at the point of putting down a motion to stop delivery of social housing until we can manage our existing stock, we had a very good enforcement team but something has changed and it is not as good as it was because it is spilling out”.
Elected members met the Chief Supt before Christmas, he recalled, “we were asked to put in a list of questions and this was brushed over”.
Kilrush’s CCTV system needs to be switched back on, he said. “We got a double slap in the face when the new hospital was announced for Limerick, because then Limerick City and County Council announced they were extending their CCTV and we can’t even use it”.
Seconding the proposal, Cllr Shane Talty (FF) said similar experiences are emerging in Ennistymon “with the absence of a community Garda, we had an excellent one who knew everyone from the age of six to eighty six in the community but they were moved to Ennis and the position was never filled”. He added, “I’ve no real faith in the LCSP”. On the LSCP, Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) said, “it is in its early days and in its infancy”.
Lack of garda resources is evident countywide, Cllr Michael Shannon (FF) noted. “We’ve unruly behaviour in our two main urban centres in WC, we’ve a lack of garda resources, a lot of critical and crucial people were moved and not replaced”.
Director of Service, Carmel Kirby told the meeting, “the majority of our social housing tenants are very good tenants and look after their properties”. She said a meeting will be arranged with the Chief Supt to discuss the issues in West Clare.
