Play equipment set on fire and huge amount of rubbish dumped in Balgaddy
By Maurice Garvey
DESPITE the installation of CCTV at a playground in Balgaddy, vandalism by a small minority of youths continues to impact the wider community.
Equipment at the playground – located beside Méile an Rí / Foxdene Avenue – was set alight this week by youths, while a huge amount of rubbish was also dumped.
“There had been reports of anti-social behaviour and open drug-dealing, that’s why councillors got CCTV which we hoped would have made an impact, but the youths have no fear,” said Cllr Ward.
“I was only up there last week and the place was fine, it looked like there was improvements. The area is in Clondalkin Area A but the address is Lucan, it is kind of on its own.
“All the societal issues, and sub-standard buildings, these are the consequences. I will be calling on the council and gardai to form a task force to tackle the issues in Balgaddy.”
Last year, The Echo reported ongoing drug-dealing and the discovery of multiple syringes in the vicinity of the playground.
Balgaddy was built 11 years ago, and was one of 20 local authority estates in Ireland which took a complaint against the Irish State to the European Committee in Strasbourg – outlining sub-standard housing conditions.
Lorraine Hennessy, a Balgaddy resident and Workers Party representative for the area, said fires have been occurring on the playground for the last two years.
She said: “We have junior rangers and tidy towns groups cleaning over the past seven years, but all funding applications for Balgaddy have been refused since 2015.
“The issues all focus on lack of youth and community facilities and failure to implement planning objectives. There is no political will to confront safety issues.”
David Fennell, SDCC, Senior Executive Parks Superintendent confirmed the multi-use playground sustained some fire damage in recent days.
“It is intended to repair this item and the council is currently examining its options in this regard,” he said.
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