COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
QUESTION NO. 4
QUESTION: Councillor E. Ó'Broin
To ask the Manager to provide a detailed report on ongoing efforts to address anti social behaviour in Balgaddy including the number of reported incidents of anti social behaviour per month for the last 2 years; the number of house visits by staff from the anti social response unit; and a list of all action being taken by SDCC or in conjunction with other agencies to address specific incidents of anti social behaviour and the more general community wide impact of anti social behaviour.
REPLY:
The following tables show a list of complaints received and the number of house calls made by the Anti Social team to the 4 estates which make up the Balgaddy Housing development. The complaints are presented on a monthly basis from November, 2011 to October 2013 for Méile an Rí, Tor an Rí, Foxdene and Búirg an Rí.
| BALGADDY COMPLAINTS RECEIVED PER MONTH NOV 2011 - OCT 2013 | |||||
| FOXDENE | MEILE AN RI | BUIRG AN RI | TOR AN RI | TOTAL | |
| Nov-11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Dec-11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jan-12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Feb-12 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 11 |
| Mar-12 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Apr-12 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| May-12 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Jun-12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jul-12 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Aug-12 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| Sep-12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Oct-12 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 21 |
| Nov-12 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 32 |
| Dec-12 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| Jan-13 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 20 |
| Feb-13 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Mar-13 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 24 |
| Apr-13 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 22 |
| May-13 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 12 | 30 |
| Jun-13 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 26 |
| Jul-13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 23 |
| Aug-13 | 3 | 16 | 4 | 11 | 34 |
| Sep-13 | 13 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 38 |
| Oct-13 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 24 |
| TOTAL | 91 | 168 | 31 | 99 | 389 |
| BALGADDY HOUSECALLS UNDERTAKEN PER MONTH NOV 2011 - OCT 2013 | |||||
| FOXDENE | MEILE AN RI | BUIRG AN RI | TOR AN RI | TOTAL | |
| Nov-11 | 15 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 40 |
| Dec-11 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Jan-12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Feb-12 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 25 |
| Mar-12 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Apr-12 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 30 |
| May-12 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Jun-12 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Jul-12 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 18 |
| Aug-12 | 28 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 49 |
| Sep-12 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| Oct-12 | 19 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 40 |
| Nov-12 | 64 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 87 |
| Dec-12 | 35 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 46 |
| Jan-13 | 21 | 46 | 2 | 9 | 78 |
| Feb-13 | 12 | 18 | 0 | 10 | 40 |
| Mar-13 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 6 | 26 |
| Apr-13 | 18 | 25 | 1 | 9 | 53 |
| May-13 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 48 |
| Jun-13 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| Jul-13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
| Aug-13 | 2 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 21 |
| Sep-13 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 18 |
| Oct-13 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 16 |
| TOTAL | 272 | 309 | 51 | 84 | 716 |
The number of actions which have been undertaken from November 2011 to October 2013 for the 4 estates which comprise of the Balgaddy Housing Development are outlined below.
These actions vary from housecalls, interviewing tenants, Notice to quit served, abandonment notices served, warnings issued etc. Since November, 2011 the Anti Social Team has issued 12 Warnings, served 3 Abandonment Notices and served 4 Notices to Quit.
| Actions undertaken | Nov 2011 - Oct 2013 |
| Méile an Rí | 803 |
| Búirg an Rí | 192 |
| Foxdene | 631 |
| Tor an Rí | 286 |
| Total | 1912 |
The Council works in conjunction with the Gardai, HSE, etc in an effort to deal with anti social behaviour in Balgaddy. All complaints are followed up and relevant action is taken where possible. However it must be noted that we are totally dependant on people coming forward and giving us all relevant information ie names, addresses etc. so that we can follow up in an effort to resolve the various issues.
In relation to Anti Social Behaviour I can report
- Recent complaints specifically relate to a gang a youths in the area causing damages to front doors and indeed communal doors as well as targeting 2 families in the area. We offered the two residents who complained of these problems covert cameras in order to catch the perpetrators but regrettably one house was not suitable and the other refused the offer. Despite this the Council did investigate the complaints and two youths were successfully identified. Warnings notices were issued to the tenants in question and this action seems to have been successful in so far as we have not had any further complaints. The situation will of course continue to be monitored
- Apart from that specific issue the Council is fully conscious that there is an ongoing problem with a minor in this area who is causing problems for the community. The Council is working closely with the Gardai in order to deal with this particular matter.
- There were issues of ASB earlier this year in the bin storage areas in Foxdene, but as a result of a joint operation with our colleagues in Waste management and Environmental Health, the problems in this area have ceased.
- We have installed a CCTV camera on Meile An Rí Road, which can be monitored in our Tallaght offices. This covers Méile An Rí Park, Búirg An Rí, Tor An Rí Walk, the playground, the MUGA and the green area. While the camera is not constantly monitored it can be focused on a specific area as required.
- Currently there are two Intercultural Liaison Volunteers working in the Balgaddy area with non nationals who have experiencing anti social behaviour. Our own Social Inclusion Unit are also very proactive in the area and their most recent event on the 16th November last, 'Building Bridges - Celebration of Cultural Diversity' was a huge success with over 200 in attendance.
- The Council have recently handed over a unit in Tor An Rí to Ronanstown Youth Service (RYS). RYS staff are currently working with a number of identified young people in the community on a one to one basis or in a group setting. Most of these groups have been organised under the Garda Diversion Project. RYS hope to extend their hours of opening in the coming months.
- The Liberty Church have possession of another unit in Balgaddy and they currently run a Breakfast Club from it. They report that this is very successful and extremely popular. The Crèche is also extremely popular in the area, and a waiting list is currently in place for placements.
- The Council have two Housing Clinics in the Clondalkin area - one in Ronanstown Youth Centre on Tuesday mornings and one in the Civic Offices in Clondalkin on Thursday mornings. Residents are welcome to call in to speak with our Anti Social Officers if they are experiencing any sort of difficulty in their area. The Gardai are generally in attendance also. All discussions and information received at these meetings is treated in the strictest manner.
From an estate management perspective I would point out that the Council has a dedicated Estate Officer and a Community Worker working in the area.
- They work closely with the Partnership staff on the ground Recent initiatives include the Family Fun Day on Foxdene Green in August and the Football Blitz in April last.
- In conjunction with the FAI a weekly football session is up and running on the MUGA for the youths in the area. This has proven to be very successful attracting 30 participants weekly
- They have also worked with the local community to provide and assist with the setting up of the Communal Garden which is now running and has had a very positive impact on the area.
On a walk around the entire Estate last Thursday, the area was looking extremely clean and tidy, with very little evidence of litter or indeed dumping. The communal areas and bin storage areas have also improved greatly. The playground and the MUGA were completely litter free and it was encouraging to see some residents out cleaning outside their own homes, taking pride in their area.
Finally the Estate Management team plans for the future involve the setting up of a Residents Association with whom they hope to continue the work of improving the area.