COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE

Monday, December 19, 2022

QUESTION NO. 13

QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor

"To ask the CEO to update members on his ongoing endeavours to ensure that Sean Walsh Park remains safe for all park users; will he outline contacts he has made with the Tallaght Gardai and also confirm plans for further works in the park and will he make a statement?"

REPLY:

As reported previously to this area committee supervisory staff from the Council's Public Realm Section have regular contact and meetings with An Garda Siochana in relation to many issues and areas and this includes Sean Walsh Park.     In general the Gardai are of the view that the park is a safe environment for members of the public to enjoy.  They have expressed the view that more lighting and more cctv would assist them in their work however they accept that providing these in a park location is not always possible. 

At a meeting in Sean Walsh Park in April of this year which was attended by Public Realm staff and community gardai from Tallaght station a number of specific locations were examined and discussed and the views of the Gardai were sought on the matter.  The location of the serious assault which took place on March 18th in the park was examined and discussed at the on-site meeting in April. The Gardai are of the view that improved visibility and lighting in this particular area, at the top of the hill close to the 'blue bridge', might help to avert an attack at this location in the future.   The footpath from the blue bridge down to the roundabout and entrance to Old Bawn Community School is the only route through the park that is currently lit, an undertaking was given to examine this area to establish if the existing lighting on the pathway could be augmented to provide some degree of lighting on the hill as this might act as a deterrent to someone taking cover in the trees and bushes at the top of the hill. 

The Public Lighting Section has been asked to consider the request for additional lighting and to report back with regard to what is required.  A consultant ecologist has been engaged to examine the issue of lighting provision in the park and is due to provide a report on the matter in the near future, to determine if any increase in the level of lighting in the park might have a detrimental impact on wildlife there.  The aim is to determine if additional lighting can be provided without impacting on wildlife in the park, and if it can then a scheme to provide that additional lighting will be proposed for inclusion in the 2023 public realm improvement works programme which will be presented to the area committee at the January meeting.

As mentioned in previous reports the Council's park rangers have been asked to increase their visits to the park and to liaise with the community gardai in relation to any issues that come to their attention.