COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE (1)
Monday, October 20, 2008
QUESTION NO. 1
QUESTION: Councillor M. Corr
"To ask the Manager once again to provide a rapid, proactive response to graffiti removal in the Jobstown, Fettercairn, Brookfield and Killinarden areas given the much publicised additional funding going into these areas for graffiti removal?"
REPLY:
The Motion refers to significant additional funding provided in RAPID areas for anti-graffit iniatives. This funding is being channeled through Pobal directly to community groups and is not provided to support Council activities or intiatives in these areas.
The Council, from within the Budget provided by the Members for 2008, provides specific responses to graffiti which incorporates the resources provided by the Council's Anti-Graffiti Team and Litter Wardens while the Council's Environmental Awareness Team supplements this by providing information about graffiti prevention and awareness to both community groups and schools.
When graffiti complaints are received, a Litter Warden will inspect the location in the first instance and will do one of the following as appropriate;
- Refer the location directly to the Council’s Anti-Graffiti Team for action
- List the location for referral to a specialised contractor for treatment;
- Assist local groups by providing materials for them to remove the graffiti;
- Advise the owner/occupier of the property of their obligations under Section 19 of the Litter Pollution Act, 1997.
While it is intended to provide as comprehensive and swift a response as possible to complaints of graffiti received, it should be noted that there is one direct labour team covering the County and work referred to specialist contractors may be grouped together to improve value for money. In addition, it is our policy to give priority to offensive, malicious and personal graffiti and to attend to other types of graffiti subsequently but notwithstanding these points, and within resource constraints, graffiti is removed as promptly as possible.
The Council’s Environmental Awareness team and RAPID co-ordinators do provide support for community applications under Pobal’s Community Graffiti Reduction Programme which aims to support an immediate reduction in the extent and impact of graffiti within the communities who participate in the programme and to develop local mechanisms within these communities to support the long-term reduction of incidences of graffiti but this programme and any funds provided by it do not come within the Council's remit.