Clondalkin parents call for urgent measures after boy is injured with syringe

Clondalkin parents call for urgent measures after boy is injured with syringe

By Maurice Garvey

A YOUNG boy cut his finger on a used syringe at a housing estate on Monday, leading to calls by parents for urgent health and safety measures to be implemented.

Mothers fear for the safety of their kids at Weaver Court in North Clondalkin, a mixed residential estate with no play area for kids, containing private tenants, council tenants, and a number of Focus Ireland units.

weaver court inset

Residents at the Neilstown community, say they are fighting a constant battle to keep their kids safe, citing a proliferation of broken bottles, syringes, drugs and rubbish on the grounds of the estate.

Jenny O’Hara, the aunt and guardian of Alex O’Hara, the young boy who cut his hand on the needle, says they will have to wait up until six months to find out the results of a blood test.

Jenny (29) said: “He was playing with his friend at the unit where the bins are kept. The bins area isn’t secured. They came across a syringe with blood in it and it stuck his finger.

“Straight away we went to A&E. It will be three weeks to find out if he has hepatitis and six months for the HIV test result.”
Mother-of-three Sandra Melia (29) said this wasn’t the first time a kid has been seriously hurt at the estate.

Sandra said: “When I first moved here, my son fell on a bottle and has a scar. A few other kids have had accidents, one fell on a pallet and needed stitches in his mouth, and my nephew fell and cut his hand, needing glue stitches.

“Alex has ADHD which causes him to do impulsive things, so even though he is told not to pick up things like syringes or broken bottles, he goes ahead without thinking of the consequences.”

She continued: “You can’t have a child out to play unless they are supervised. You’re not sure what they will pick up next.

We shouldn’t have to be telling very young kids about the dangers of needles and drugs they might find on the ground.”

Other mothers The Echo spoke to, say the estate is a “drug den” and lacks proper security despite in being a gated community.

“I don’t want to let my kids play on the stairs, the last time they did that, there was a fella smoking crack,” said one mother.
A number of mothers said they were sick and tired of people knocking on their doors at all hours of the night looking for someone, or wanting them to open the front gate.

“We don’t even know who the management company are,” said one mother.

“There is no play area in the estate, it was promised on the plans but was never built. At the moment, it’s like they are letting anyone in. I’d move in a heartbeat if I could.”

“There are people coming in and out using drugs, dropping needles and tablets. None of the kids here need that stress,” said Sandra.

South Dublin County Council confirmed they have “a number of units within this private development” but were unable to say who is in charge of the estate.

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