Additional lighting measures at playground

Additional lighting and other measures have been installed around Kilnamanagh Playground to help tackle anti-social behaviour in the area.

There have been repeated incidents of anti-social behaviour at the playground and in the surrounding area of the Tallaght playground, including bonfires at Halloween.

The slide within the playground itself was also set on fire in early October this year.

At the Tallaght Area Committee meeting on Monday, December 15, Cllr Adam Smyth (FF) submitted a question to council staff for a report on measures they could put in place around the playground to help combat the issues.

In a written reply, Brendan Redmond, senior executive Parks and Landscape Officer for South Dublin County Council, said that additional lighting had been installed around the playground “improve visibility and passive surveillance after dark”.

“Tree branches around the playground have also been lifted to improve sightlines and visibility into the area,” he continued.

He said the council’s Public Realm team meets regularly with An Garda Síochána to address issues in parks and public open spaces, including concerns relating to anti-social behaviour.

“The issues reported in Kilnamanagh playground have been raised with An Garda Síochána, who have applied additional resources to patrolling the area, including the playground itself,” he said.

At a recent meeting of the Kilnamanagh Neighbourhood Watch in early December, Gardaí also asked residents of Kilnamanagh to make more 999 calls about issues in the area, even if they seem like “small issues”, as it is important to prevent them from escalating.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme