COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF TERENURE-RATHFARNHAM AREA COMMITTEE 2

Tuesday 8th May 2007

QUESTION No. 7

QUESTION: Councillor J. Lahart

 "To ask the Manager to make a comprehensive statement on the steps taken to deal with graffiti in the Rathfarnham Terenure area?"

 REPLY:

In mid 2006, the Council took the initiative of introducing on a pilot basis, a team who are assigned to removal of graffiti throughout the county.  In the Budget for 2007 an additional provision of €210,000 was made to support this new resource, in recognition of the graffiti problem.  To date the Council has been requested to remove graffiti from 63 locations in the Terenure/ Rathfarnham area.Some areas had more extensive graffiti than others.Set out hereunder are the areas where work has been carried out by the graffiti crew in recent months and the dates completed for each area treated.

Terenure/ Rathfarnham Area	Date Completed
Templeville Park	23/5/2006
Hillside Park	8/6/2006
Grange Road	15/6/2006
Templeroan Roundabout	19/6/2006
Willsbrook House	12/7/2006
Elkwood Football Pitches	12/7/2006
Willbrook Estate	12/7/2006
Washington Lane	14/7/2006
Moyville Estate	17/7/2006
Glenlyon Estate	26/7/2006
Ballyroan Crescent	8/8/2006
Ballyroan Crescent Park	8/8/2006
Templeville Drive	9/8/2006
Laneway at Brookvale Close	9/10/2006
Pine Grove	27/11/06
Oldbridge Road / Butterfield Avenue	22/11/2006
Walls to the side of 40B Dargle Wood	12/12/2006
Lampost and Litter bin in front of 31 Wellington Lane	13/12/2006
Beaufort Court	18/12/2006
Beaufort Downs	18/12/2006
Laneway off Ballyroan Road	2/1/2007
Wall on open space in front of Orchard Drive off Anne Devlin Rd	4/1/2007
Templeogue Village	5/1/2007
Knocklyon Avenue	5/1/2007
Wall at Grange Road	8/1/2007
Wall at Edmondstown Green	17/1/2007
Glenmore Court	23/1/2007
Palmer Park	29/1/2007
Knocklyon Road	29/1/2007
Pearse Brothers Park	30/1/2007
Side wall of 20 Rossmore Park & 14 Rossmore Crescent	13/2/2007
Wall at Orlagh Wood (Cul-de-sac)	13/3/2007
Wilderwood Grove	21/03/2007
Entrance Stone to Springvale Estate	31/3/2007
Wall at Orlagh Wood (Cul-de-sac)	13/3/2007
Wall along Dodder Road	31/03/2007
Old Knocklyon Road (wall at end of cul-de-sac bordering M50)	17/4/2007
Wall at waste ground (off Landsdown Park )	24/4/2007

There is currently a large list of locations awaiting treatment in the County area generally and new sites are being added on a daily basis.  When a complaint of graffiti is received, it is assessed for the extent of the task and also where responsibility lies for its removal.

As private walls are the responsibility of the owner concerned, each owner is contacted as graffiti complaints are received and when sites have been investigated. In relation to walls which form the boundary between public open space and private property, the Council will usually, subject to prior inspection by the Litter Warden,  paint over graffiti at such locations.

Further measures.

• The Council is in regular contact with public utility companies such as the ESB, Eircom and NTL requesting them to carry out their obligations in removing graffiti from their property.  

• Business owners have been issued with notices under the Litter Pollution Act to remove graffiti from their properties at various locations in the County. 

• Residents Associations whose members are willing to paint over graffiti in the local areas, may avail of paint given free of charge by the Council, where requested.  In these instances, contact should be made with the Litter Warden to obtain assistance. 

• Surfaces such as stone and brick are generally not suitable for painting over. In such instances the Council engages the services of a specialist contractor to carry out sandblasting work to remove the graffiti. 

• The Litter Warden liaises with the Gardai on an ongoing basis regarding graffiti complaints.  Unless offenders are ‘caught in the act’ or other suitable evidence is available, a prosecution cannot be taken under the Litter Act.  The vigilance of local residents is important as a means to identify offenders. 

• An Assistant Environment al Awareness Officer has recently taken up duty with the Council.  This additional resource adds support to the Environment al Awareness Officer in her programme of environmental awareness work with schools and local organisations.

The work of the Graffiti Removal Crew is reviewed on a regular basis and the Council is satisfied that reasonable progress has been made to date.  However, parents, residents groups, property owners and school authorities must all endeavor to play a part in the prevention of graffiti. Anti graffiti measures by the Council alone will not in themselves resolve the problem in the short term.