‘A nightmare’ how residents describe the ongoing issues

A RESIDENT in one of the apartments in Belgard Square West in Tallaght said living there is “a nightmare” due to ongoing issues with anti-social behaviour.

The resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said groups of youths have broken the doors to gain access to the stairwells in the apartment blocks and have daubed racist graffiti on the walls.

They also regularly smoke weed and inhale gas in the stairwells, and intimidate residents and security guards from the complex when they try to move them on.

“The anti-social behaviour was always present, but this is the most intense it’s been,” the resident told The Echo.

“Every day you’d see gangs of teenagers around the bus stop vaping, messing around and harassing people.

“But now they keep loitering in the staircases, because they’ve figured out how to get into the doors, so they got in and they’ve destroyed the place.

“There’s racist graffiti in the stairwell, and they will threaten and scream at anyone who tries to call them out.

“We have a residents’ WhatsApp group and on a daily basis there are videos of the teenagers breaking in, causing havoc, screaming.

“People are even afraid to use their balconies in case things are thrown at them.

“People who live in the floors where they’re loitering are afraid to come out because they’re afraid they’ll throw bottles at them.”

While the management company that runs the complex does provide security, there are limits to what they can do and the issue extends beyond the apartments.

“The security in the complex doesn’t want to go near them, they know they can’t touch them because of their age,” added the resident.

A broken window at one of the doors

“And sometimes there’ll be ten or 15 teenagers and one security guard.

“They can’t really touch anyone, they’re just there as a presence.

“The Indian and Chinese takeaways have closed because of the anti-social behaviour – this should be a lively business area, but everything is closing down.

“The apartments are next to the Square and near a garda station, but you never spot garda patrols or anything like that.”

The resident added that incidents are often reported to gardaí by residents, with the most recent report being logged on Monday, March 18.

In that instance, a group of youths were in the stairwell in the Swan Hall block of apartments and were inhaling gas from balloons.

A lack of garda action coupled with the management company that oversees the apartments being “slow to fix” the broken doors to stop the youths from getting in have worsened the issue, according to the resident.

“It’s nightmare,” they said. “When you get home, there’s broken glass everywhere in the stairwell.

“It’s really bad for the area, and it’s really bad for the residents.”

A garda spokesperson told The Echo that Tallaght gardaí are investigating incidents in the area and have implemented high-visibility patrols.

“Tallaght gardaí are investigating a number of incidents of public order and anti-social behaviour in the Belgard area,” said the spokesperson.

“All reports of anti-social behaviour are taken seriously.

“Local garda management have recently implemented extra high-visibility patrols and other operations in the area targeting specific concerns in the community.

“The objective of these patrols, conducted by gardaí from Tallaght Community Engagement Area, is to detect and deter anti-social behaviour. These operations are ongoing.”

The Echo contacted the management company that maintains the communal areas of the apartment blocks for comment, but a response wasn’t received at the time of print.