‘The council should publish garda figures with their own’
By Aideen O'Flaherty
Over 600 actions have been taken by South Dublin County Council’s housing allocation support unit in Tallaght this year in a bid to combat anti-social behaviour in the area, with one councillor saying that instances of anti-social behaviour in the community are being underreported.
In statistics released by the council at Monday’s monthly meeting of the Tallaght Area Committee, it was found that 248 house calls/inspections have been carried out by the council’s staff, 138 interviews have been held and 17 warnings have been issued.
A report was issued by the council.
Eleven instances of drug activity in the Tallaght area have been reported to the council so far this year, eight instances of violence, intimidation or harassment have been reported, while two instances of criminal activity were reported, and no reports of joyriding were received.
Five reports of people illegally occupying properties have been received, while the local authority received three reports each for instances of vandalism, the physical condition of properties and the physical condition of gardens.
Two instances of houses lying vacant were reported, while one neighbourhood dispute was reported.
No reports of nuisance pets or animals were received by the local authority, but two instances of noise disturbances were reported, as was one instance of nuisance children, with all anti-social behaviour reports received by SDCC in the first quarter of this year totalling 42, while 37 complaints were lodged.
Independent councillor for Tallaght Central, Mick Duff, told The Echo: “I believe that issues in all sections of the report have been underrepresented.
“This has been a bugbear of mine for some time – you have to make one report to the gardai and one report to the council [to have the incident recorded in council statistics].
“It’s double reporting and there’s no need for that.
“The council should publish garda figures with their own about issues in the Tallaght area – a combined report.
“That would give a much broader picture of each aspect of criminality.”
Cllr Duff added that he believes reported instances of people using scrambler bikes should be under the heading of joyriding in the council’s statistics, and that a ‘three-strike’ rule for council tenants who participate in anti-social behaviour should be considered.
In response to the reports of anti-social behaviour, council staff carried out a number of actions, including issuing four demands for possession, obtaining 11 surrenders from tenants, issuing 17 warnings, and holding 63 pre-tenancy meetings.
