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VANDALISM AND ANTI-social behaviour is continuing in a south Dublin housing estate despite recent investment by the local council in a CCTV and speaker system to discourage this kind of behaviour.
Local Sinn Féin councillor Mark Ward told TheJournal.ie that there is “a whole host of issues” with the playground including vandalism, illegal dumping and drug dealing.
CCTV was first installed in the Balgaddy playground in 2011 but it was upgraded in the last month. The new set-up includes five high resolution cameras and four voiceover speakers.
The footage is relayed to the County Hall in Tallaght where it is stored. South Dublin County Council said the equipment cost in the region of €20,000.
Just this week, the playground was again vandalised when a fire was lit under a climbing frame.
Ward said he was “extremely angry that despite the investment by the council of the instillation of the CCTV that this vandalism continues”.
“This behaviour has no place in our communities. The people carrying out this destruction have a total disregard for the vast majority of the residents in Balgaddy,” he said.
The playground is there for children to enjoy and for parents to go and chat with their neighbours, to get a bit of a community spirit. The vast majority of people in Balgaddy are good working class people who want to get on with their lives in a proper, reasonable way.
In a statement, South Dublin County Council said: “The council carries out inspections of the playground on a weekly basis and undertakes repairs to the equipment, where required. The council is aware of the recent vandalism.”
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Stop repairing the damage. Stop cleaning up after them. Let them live in their mess.
@Eóghain Pádraig MacEochagáin:
Then you’re punishing innocent folks, innocent kids. They have hd footage, surely they can trace them, unless that was more money blown on overpriced stuff that doesn’t work
@Eóghain Pádraig MacEochagáin: oh be quiet. What actually needs to happen is a concerted effort to catch and punish the people doing this. That punishment should include paying for the damage, cleaning and repairing or a year in jail for each offence. If there are no consequences then there’s no reason to stop.
@Eóghain Pádraig MacEochagáin: it doest just happen in §hi77y areas, it happens right across the country, Naas,Tymon Park, and other playgrounds have been vandalised recently. We need something else other than abandonment, communities should work with Gardai to stop this sort of anti social activity.
Sterilization problem solved
@Celtic_Horizon: sterilisation is the conversation we need to have
@Celtic_Horizon: If the sterilization problem is solved, does that mean they can reproduce more? I fail to see how this is a solution.
@Celtic_Horizon: The movie ‘The purge’ comes to my mind.. would be badly needed in Dublin given how the situation is worsening. I know it’d be inhuman etc.. but let’s face it these ones do no good to anything/anyone,only take away,endanger and harm. What to breed them for??!
Same in Waterford , large stale dumping, cars trowing black bags from car doors at night on streets covered by Garda CCTV that cost millions to install. Apparently the Garda think dumping is not a criminal offence..
Can’t blame the Gardai If they bring charges in most cases person charged will get legal aid and case will be dismissed…..Mighr be a fine which is never paid…
@John003: then community service which would involve cleaning up the mess they made. .
The dregs of society ruining it for everyone else.
Harsher punishments for vandalism is needed.
Nothing will change until the CCTV is used and followed up and the fullest and severe penalties are followed through on. Decent people in all areas need the full protection of the law. If those who create chaos are expected to fully pay for all costs and if they can’t then payment is taken over time from state payments. Is the will there to do this????
@Dave Phelan: I agree, and most of these vandals are living in much needed free or almost free council housing so how about the council issue a warning to the parents of these vandals that there kids/adult children behaviour is not acceptable and if it continues that there housing will be removed from them and given to the next family on the housing list. I think the threat of homelessness is a good enough threat for these families to take action against there kids and get them to start parenting them for a change. Also there social welfare should be deducted to pay for any damage caused by there children.
I agree with most of what you say but a major amount of the vandalism and littering and socially unacceptable behaviour is done by the ordinary members of society. It is not only nor exclusively those on benefits. Indeed in our area it is those who are not working or unemployed for whatever reason who contribute to society the most. I think that if CCTV were used properly, that the people who appeared in from of the courts would come from all backgrounds.
@Gary: there in the pub and don’t give a fu…k
@Dave Phelan: The states on either side of this road where the playground is located are exclusively “social” housing and largely populated by people who were relocated from a former inner city flat complex which they also destroyed over the years. Once they’re caught they should be evicted.
This is what happens when people who contribute nothing to society get handed everything for free. They know the value of nothing. Just ask the lad up there with the eye brows
Huge lack of respect in this country.
Litter, crime, vandalism.
I suppose it’s da bankers fault though.
Go after the parents . Of these thugs . Stop free legal aid again , again again
@John Scott: …so that only people with money can get proper representation in court. Then next week you nutters will be banging in about some other hair-brained short term solution
@Meekus: or maybe limit free legal aid to 3 times per person. That should be sufficient for most humans!
One play ground in one estate in one small part of south Dublin near Lucan … and it’s baffling the authorities on how to resolve. Sad!
CCTV is as useful,as a Chrystal Ball if there is no one to act ,here’s my prediction,The State has given up on these no-go areas ,and nothing will be done .
@Brian O Reilly: until it spills over into Joe public like what what happened in Limerick
Would it not make sense to put a high fence around the playground and lock up every evening so these vandals can’t get in?
@Michael Leahy: Although I am assuming that this is not happening during the day!…
@Michael Leahy: All country is covered in fences…All it does is makes lives of normal people more complicated, countless times you go and hit the wall at the end, and yeah…you gotta walk back.
Or getting locked inside the park while walking the dog, happened as well.
Look at some schools, cameras encaged, bars on windows, looks jail not a school.
Those found to be vandalising should be evicted from their housing by the council. Will send a message
The filth doing this are more than likely underage and have been caught many many times. They will go on to be come part of the drugs gangs and progress to violent crimes.
But as is this country you get a free pass to do whatever you like as long as you keep creating work and pay days for our legal system.
What exactly is the purpose of the €20K tax payer funded CCTV equipment? Why did they not just put a cardboard box on top of the poll and write CCTV on it. It would have served the same purpose, nothing, and saved them €20K which could have been used for a padlock to lock the playground every night.
This is replicated in pockets all around the country in fact.
The problems are,
It’s illegal to name and shame.
There is no shame for those with this behaviour anyway.
No culture of self responsibility, it’s someone else’s fault.
Enablement of all of the above by idiot apologists.
Maybe bring back consequences..
Nothing will change until we challenge these lefties, and the PC Brigade that have destroyed this country.
Its a kip.
Look quays the answer to vandalism lies in IT. When you catch a vandal you bring them to court. Judge claims they have done €5000 euro. Add €2500 admin charge. Then can they pay now, probably not. So you take it in instalments from social welfare, or deduct it from tax credits, or if the vandal is underage you deduct it from first social welfare or first tax credits….put it hast to be paid.
Soon a young vandal will realise that this is an expensive hobby. At the moment even if they are caught there is no deterrent and the taxpayer picks up the tab
It wasn’t my fckingggg 16 year old yungelllaaa… he was in all night smoking a bit of blow in his room making his 6th baby with his scanger burrrddd ! Dregs and parasites !
Imagine If the Garda patrolled the area instead of sitting on their holes with their Chinese in the station
@Robbie Patterson: ye it’s disgraceful right ? Imagine eating food while on your break from working the night shift ?
@Robbie Patterson: its shocking they have to eat food.
This is a sad reflection on society as a hole, and its not just south Dublin, its in many communities.
Cause by young thugs that are not afraid of anything or body…
They can set up as many cameras as they like, but as long as our eminent lordships allow these scrotes to roam the streets with impunity they will be wasting their time and our money.
I’m waiting for the journals daily entry for North Korea. This time they actually have a story, NK have attached nuclear weapons to their missiles and will announce their statement at 15.30 Korean time, you’re welcome
@John O Connor: this is a different topic bro, that north Korea stuff is over there :)
Its not just the irish causing this problem.
Thanks to he Mary Robinson ass kissers we have the peasants from all over involved.
Why don’t we move them in beside these people and see how it feels.
Did they really believe CCTV was going to solve the problem?
That would have been their first mistake.
This is probably homeless people making a fire to keep themselves warm and cheer themselves up a bit. I have seen this kind of thing a lot, it is always on the tarmac because they think it is less dangerous, that the thing is not going to get out of control. I’m sure in their minds they think they’re being more responsible.
@Rachael Ball: Not sure if being serious?
@Rachael Ball: are you for real?
It’s sad that these relatively newish apartments have brought down my area so much. I always find it amazing how rapidly downhill this estate went in such a short time
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