COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE (1)
Monday, March 16, 2009
MOTION NO. 3
MOTION: Councillor S. Crowe
This committee in view of ongoing problems being experienced in the general Brookview area calls on the manager to give a report outlining steps he proposes to take along with other agencies to address some of these issues.
Report
A total of 50 complaints of anti social behaviour by tenants from rented dwellings in Brookview Estate were reported to the Council's Housing Estate Management Team in 2008.
A total of 247 individual actions were taken by the Council in response to these complaints including the issue of some serious warnings which are a precursor to the service of notice to quit.
There has been a large investment of resources in recent years in the administrative area of South Dublin County. Set out below are some of the initiatives and interventions made in order to improve the quality of life of residents in the County.
1. A number of on-site visits have taken place by Council management with a view to identying enforcement issues. These issues are being tackled on an inter departmental/agency approach.
2. A co-ordination meeting was held with Garda Management. Such meetings will continue to strenghten existing good linkages and co-operation with the Gardai.
3. Estate management procedures are constantly being reviewed and specfic training has been undertaken by the Housing/Community staff on identifying and developing local community resources. This will further develop community focused initiatives and strenghts.
4. Tenancy training has been reviewed with a view to emphasising the responsibilites of tenants to their local community and environment. A new programme has been developed with other agencies, (particularly CDI), and is being delivered to all new and prospective tenants of South Dublin County Council.
The primary aim of the above initiatives, is to ensure that South Dublin County is a safe and attractive place delivering good quality of life to those people living there.
Estate Management
Tackling anti social, and promoting pro-social, behaviour is at the core of this Councils housing management policy. Detailed below are the various projects that are currently being implemented in this regard.
Anti Social Policy
All complaints are dealt with in confidence. The Estate Management Team will investigate every complaint and where appropriate will conduct interviews, issue verbal and written warnings, refer to other agencies, issue Eviction Notice (eviction of whole household)
Tenants involved in persistent anti-social behaviour will be evicted from Local Authority housing
Tenants evicted for anti-social behaviour cannot apply for Local Authority housing for 2 years and may not qualify for rent subsidy
The Council's Anti Social Policy document is currently being reviewed. This review will be guided by the provisions of Housing (Miscellaneous) provisions Bill 2008. A sub-committee of the Housing SPC has been formulated for purpose of overseeing this review.
Vetting/Validation of Housing applicants
In the interest of achieving good estate management, and in accordance with the provisions of the Housing Miscellaneous Provisions Act l997, applications under Section l4 and l5 of the Act are made to the Gardai in respect of each housing applicant so as to ensure the applicant is not currently known to the Gardai, and is not likely to engage in anti social activity to the detriment of existing and emerging communities.
Pre-Tenancy Training
The format/content of pre-tenancy training which is mandatory for all new tenants has also been revised as part of the overall review of the Estate Management function. The Council recognizes new challenges that have emerged in recent years due in part to the numbers of new Irish who are being housed and the language and communication difficulties which have to be addressed so as to ensure the integration of these families into their community from the outset. While the pre-tenancy training will be fully utilized to convey relevant information to our new tenants in relation to the charter of tenant’s rights and responsibilities, the focus will be on fostering and nurturing community spirit amongst the occupants of new developments with a view to creating ownership from the outset and staving off future incidence of anti social behaviour. The training session will be supported by inter-active video link with a presentation from the ‘Connect-me’ which will provide valuable links and information to the local community in relation to local social and physical infrastructure. Pre-tenancy training is supported at cross-departmental level within the Council with individual stakeholders such as Health Services Executive (local Public Health Nurse), Department of Education (School Liaison Officer) and the local Community Gardaí also represented.
It is further proposed to supplement pre-tenancy training with follow up visits to new tenants to ensure that they are integrating successfully into their new environment – where special interventions are identified, e.g. support services such as social workers, welfare officers, tenancy support officers or Family Functional Therapy, these will be put in place.
Family Support System
This service is targeted at families who are at risk of losing their tenancies because of anti-social behaviour. The Council's Welfare Team develops a preventative plan to create conditions for the sustainment of the tenancy and to protect the community in which the tenant lives from anti social behaviour. This plan is developed in consultation with the family support agencies, to ensure support services are bound together in a complimentary and integrated way. Families participating in this welfare plan are required to sign a Behavioural Contract Agreement requiring them to adhere to the terms and conditions of the plan. Breach of the Behavioural Contract can result in loss of their tenancy – approx. 33 families countywide are actively engaging with this support service.
Weekly Housing Clinics are hosted by the Council's Housing Estate Management Team throughout the county at the following locations:
| Clinic Name | Address of Clinic | Days Held | Time of Clinic |
| Mary Mercer | Mary Mercer, Jobstown | Every Thurs | 11am – 12 noon |
| Glenshane/Rossfield | 12 Brookfield Court | Every Fri | 11am – 12 noon |
| Killinarden | Killinarden Community Centre | Every Fri | 11am – 12 noon |
| Fettercairn | Fettercairn Community Centre | Every Wed | 10.45am – 11.45am |
| Clondalkin | Civic Offices, Clondalkin | Every Thurs | 10 am – 11am |
| Ronanstown | Ronanstown CYC | Every Tues | 11.30am – 1pm |
Members of the public are actively encouraged to attend these clinics for purpose of discussing housing related business including incidents of anti social behaviour. Where such inicdents are reported they are treated with utmost confidentiality. The Clinics are attended by the local Community Garda.
CCTV
As a result of major anti-social activity and illegal dumping at a number of estates throughout the County it was considered necessary to install security cameras as a means of monitoring and identifying the persons involved in any further illegal activity. These cameras are sometimes monitored 24 hours per day during periods of increased anti social behaviour.
Inter-Agency Meetings
The Allocation Support Unit continues to work closely with other local agencies/groups in an integrated manner to improve service provision to the Council’s tenants. ASU consults with the Gardai, Tallaght Partnership, Probation Services, the HSE, Dublin Bus, Social Welfare, etc.
Mediation Bureau
The Mediation Bureau is a community mediation service for people in conflict. It is an impartial, independent and confidential way of preventing conflict getting worse and restoring good relations. In this regard the work of the Bureau is particularly relevant in the context of tenants’ relationships in Council estates where harassment, threat, intimidation, allegation, noise disturbance, and other anti-social behaviour exists. A representative from the Mediation Bureau attends all Estate Liaison Committee meetings. A number of families have retained their tenancy through this process over the years.
County wide focus
The improvement of the Estate Management service will continue with the development of further county wide strategies / programmes that will ensure consistency of service, improve the coherence of the service and further enhance understanding of what the service is intended to achieve and what residents can expect. These strategies will include an Environmental strategy, Sports Strategy, Arts/Cultural strategy, Residents Training Strategy, Community Development Programmes etc.