Contact council if you find drug paraphernalia in public parks
The drug parphernalia discovered in Jobstown Park

Contact council if you find drug paraphernalia in public parks

MEMBERS of the public who come into contact with waste in public spaces where syringes or drug paraphernalia are present should immediately contact South Dublin County Council, according to a council spokesperson.

This follows on from an article published in The Echo recently, where a Tallaght resident found a quantity of discarded, used syringes, some of which contained blood, in Jobstown Park.

A garda spokesperson previously confirmed to The Echo that the removal of waste containing drug paraphernalia falls under the remit of local councils.

A council spokesperson told The Echo: “When a report is received which specifies that there are syringes or drug paraphernalia present in a public park, open space or council facility, these calls are logged on the customer care system (for record) and referred immediately to our Public Realm operations crews who arrange to attend immediately on site to remove the reported items.

“If syringes or drug paraphernalia are discovered on public grounds by our Litter Warden Service during patrol or bag searches, contact is immediately made with Public Realm operations to arrange for removal.

“The Litter Warden remains on site until Public Realm attends to remove the material.”

Staff in the council’s public realm department have been trained in needlestick awareness, and are aware that if they received a needlestick injury they should immediately attend A&E.

While the council is responsible for the management and maintenance of public property, the spokesperson said the council “will examine reports of paraphernalia/discarded syringes etc on private property on a case-by-case basis.

“If any member of the public comes in contact with waste where syringes or drug paraphernalia are present, they should immediately call County Hall, Customer Care on 01 414 9000, through which the call is logged (for record) and referred directly to our Public Realm Unit.

“Members of the general public are advised not to make any direct contact with this paraphernalia,” the spokesperson concluded.

TAGS
Share This