STUDENTS AT TU Dublin’s Grangegorman campus are “fearful” after an increase in “anti-social behaviour” in recent weeks, according to the Students’ Union.
In the most recent incident, around a dozen gardaí responded to what a garda spokesperson described as an “altercation” within the Grangegorman campus.
A garda spokesperson told The Journal that gardaí responded to an “altercation between two persons” at around 4.45pm last Thursday.
The garda spokesperson added that no injuries were reported and added that enquiries are ongoing.
Meanwhile, a TU Dublin spokesperson described the incident as “involving antisocial behaviour” and said that gardaí were “alerted and quickly responded”.
The Grangegorman campus, developed at cost of €220 million, was officially opened over the summer.
It’s located in Dublin 7, about a kilometre from Dublin City centre.
Speaking to The Journal, TU Dublin Students’ Union president Brian Jordan described the incident as “very, very extreme antisocial behaviour in one of the higher floors in central quad in Grangegorman”.
He said it “resulted in a lot of guards having to show up to campus to deal with situation”.
Videos of the incident, seen by The Journal, appear to show two males engaged in a physical altercation.
Jordan added that “there’s been a decrease of perception of safety on the Grangegorman campus”.
“As well as the altercation last week, there’s also been a lot of bike thefts, I even know a colleague who had racist slurs thrown at her as she was leaving the campus one day,” said Jordan.
He told The Journal that “a lot of the attacks seem to be racially motivated, or at least they use a lot of racist slurs throughout the attack or intimidation”.
There are also reports of incidents at the nearby Broadstone Luas Stop.
“There’s been two major incidents there that have gone somewhat viral on social media,” said Jordan.
The first incident Jordan referred to occurred in February, when several students were racially abused and had eggs thrown at them.
Today your Students’ Union held a Rally against Racism in solidarity with the students who were attacked just outside of Grangegorman less than two weeks ago. We are stronger, louder and and more resilient than the far right will ever be @WeAreTUDublin pic.twitter.com/q1AQvG6v4c
— TU Dublin Students' Union (@tudublinsu) February 13, 2023
“More recently, this semester, fellow students were racially abused and allegedly, one of them had a weapon, and they were throwing fireworks and rocks at the group as well,” said Jordan.
He told The Journal that “there tends to be a lot of anti-social behaviour at that Luas stop, with people who aren’t students shouting at students and trying to enter the campus, especially in the evening time”.
He’s encouraged students to report such behaviour to the gardaí, as opposed to the Students’ Union.
“A lot of time they’ll send it on to the Union social media page and we’re trying to get them to record it because we’re a representative body, we’re not a policing force,” said Jordan.
“Also, the Broadstone Luas stop is technically outside the Grangegorman campus area so campus security doesn’t venture out there.”
While Jordan said security measures have been increased on campus, he added that “students are kind of fearful”.
“When you go to Trinity, you don’t feel any sort of insecurity,” said Jordan, “whereas if you’re trying to get into Grangegorman, I think there’s definitely more of a sense of vulnerability, especially after the riots last week.”
While Jordan said “students always have mixed views about policing”, he noted that in light of the “recent attacks and everything that’s been going on, I think they definitely prefer more police presence and campus security rather than less.”
However, Jordan expressed concern that more police in one area will simply transfer the issue somewhere else.
“You can put as many police as you want in an area, but all you’re really doing is moving the antisocial behaviour to a different area.”
These concerns of “moving antisocial behaviour to a different area” are shared by local Fine Gael councillor Ray McAdam.
Speaking to The Journal, he noted that “gardaí have put in place a number of operations in the area to tackle prolific drug dealing in the Northside Street and Dominic Street area”.
“And while that has been successful,” said McAdam, “there has been a displacement effect, and some of that displacement has been felt at the Broadstone Plaza and Grangegorman Luas stops.”
He told The Journal that “there has been a number of issues over the last four to six weeks”, most of it “occurring off campus at the Broadstone Plaza Luas stop, affecting the Grangegorman Luas stop”
At recent meetings involving the TU Dublin Students’ Union, the Grangegorman Development Agency, local residents and public representatives, McAdam said “issues about safety for students in and around the campus coming from the Luas line have been raised”.
He added that this is particularly so “in respect of an increase in the volume of drug dealing”.
“There is also a general sense of not being safe in the vicinity of those Luas stops,” said McAdam.
He added that there is “always a level of concern when you start to see more prolific drug dealing taking place” and welcomed gardaí “putting in place an operation over the last six to eight weeks that has enabled a number of arrests to take place”.
“There is an increased garda presence city wide at the moment, so I would anticipate that this will help address the issues we have experienced in and around the Grangegorman Campus,” said McAdam.
McAdam added that he has no concern about the possibility of the recently enhanced police presence being cut in the new year.
“I raised this directly with the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris at the recent Dublin Policing Committee,” said McAdam.
“He was very clear that from the longer-term point of view, visible policing is the name of the game and that’s the way it’s going to stay.”
McAdam noted that a batch of new entrants to An Garda Siochána are due to graduate from Templemore by the end of the month.
McAdam added that the “lion’s share of them will be going to Dublin stations” and that this “is further evidence that we are strengthening the numbers of guards that will be out on the beat”.
“Those extra officers will be in situ in local stations and policing local communities such as Grangegorman and Stoneybatter, right across the initial months of 2024,” McAdam told The Journal.
“They will be further strengthened by at least another 350 officers that will be coming out of Templemore in the spring.”
Addressing last month’s Justice Committee on Engagement on Policing Matters, Labour TD Alan Kelly said: “I understand that there is now an unprecedented move to bring the start date for the next batch of new entrants to 27/28 December this year, rather than early January.
“We can all see this for what it is. A pathetic attempt by Government to bolster the numbers.”
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