COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE (1)

Monday, October 17, 2011

MOTION NO.1

MOTION: Councillor M. Duff

Cathaoirleach's Business:

That this Committee calls on the Manager, in conjunction with Tallaght Gardai, to provide extra security, especially on weekend nights, in Public Parks in Tallaght, in an effort to stamp out or curtail under age drinking and other anti social behaviour

REPORT:

The problem of anti social behaviour in our parks and open spaces mirrors the same problem that is ongoing in the wider public realm.  Very often the problem is one of perception, i.e. large numbers of youths congregating together creates an appearance of danger to other park users but which may not be the intention of the youths. 

However, in many other situations, such congregations include noisy behaviour, drinking alcohol to excess and drug dealing which in turn lead to acts of vandalism and damage to both public and in some cases, private property.  The vast majority of the anti-social behaviour incidents reported to the Council relate to incidents taking place outside of normal park opening hours, generally under cover of darkness. It is the experience of the Council that, as a general rule, the persons enagaged in anti-social behaviour are local to the area i.e. they are living within 1 -2 km of the location where the anti-social behaviour takes place. It is also generally accepted that the widespread availability of alcohol, often subject to promotional and discounted pricing, does not help matters. 

There is a range of existing legislation such as the Criminal Justice (Public Order) and Intoxicating Liquor Acts specifically enacted, to deal with this type of behaviour. Council staff liaise on a regular basis at local level with An Garda Siochána on this and related issues. The issues are also the subject of review at meetings of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC) and Local Police Fora. The Council wishes to acknowledge the effort and support received from An Garda Siochána on an ongoing basis in enforcing the law and the Council's Bye-laws and countering anti-social behaviour in our parks throughout the county. 

The Council also completed a review of the Parks and Open Space Bye-laws earlier this year and they were adopted at the July Meeting of the County Council . These Bye-laws contain provisions relating to behaviour in public parks and include a range of offences which are subject to fixed notices and / or prosecution by the Council / An Garda Siochána.