COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, September 11, 2023

QUESTION NO. 19

QUESTION: Councillor L.Guéret

To ask the Chief Executive what procedures and incentives are currently in place to deal with graffiti, and to give a report on how many hours/month are spent by South Dublin County Council in dealing with graffiti ?

REPLY:

The South Dublin County Council Litter Management Plan 2020-2022 proposes to address the negative impacts of litter on our county, improve the quality of life and sense of wellbeing of our residents, and enhance our commercial and tourism potential through effective and efficient enforcement of legislation and regulation, management and maintenance of our public realm and communication, education, and awareness. Graffiti is managed in accordance with the provisions of the Litter Pollution Act 1997 as amended, and through the Council's supporting Annual Action Plan. The Litter Management Plan 2020-2022 has been reviewed and the Draft replacement Litter Management Plan is currently out for public consultation and the members have been invited to make submissions. The report on the public consultation will inform the content and reporting arrangements in respect of the new plan.

All reports of graffiti are dealt with by our removal crews as they are reported. Other staff remove graffiti also, including the painter and other construction staff. We continue to take immediate action to remove or cover offensive or politically motivated graffiti as a priority once a report is received.

SDCC has a Memorandum of Understanding with the ESB and a number of other utility companies, who have agreed to remove graffiti from their premises/assets once reported to them.

From January 2023 to date, Public Realm has removed graffiti from 136 different locations. Of the 136 locations, multiple incidents of graffiti were removed at each of those locations.  

SDCC has used some anti-graffiti paints in a limited number of areas such as some boundary walls and bridges. These paints/coatings are used to form a layer over a surface to prevent graffiti from attaching to that surface. Graffiti can then be removed using power hoses from surfaces that are treated in such a way. The addition of the paint/coating does not prevent further graffiti; however, it does make the area affected easier to clean.

SDCC are currently procuring for a specialist contractor for graffiti removal from block and stone face walls and other specialist graffiti removal. 

Incentives that are currently in place include the Social Credits Scheme which supports and rewards community groups and individuals who take ownership of their environment and improve their local area by carrying out pro-environmental actions such as community clean-ups, maintenance of community gardens, graffiti removal, weeding of footpaths etc. The scheme is open to all community groups in South Dublin County's administrative area including:

The Social Credits Scheme is broken into 3 elements. Clean ups, Minor Landscape Scheme and Paint Enhancement Scheme.  Under the paint enhancement scheme the council provides paint to groups for the removal of graffiti or to carry out minor enhancement projects in their area.  We also supply materials including paint brushes and rollers.

Also, since 2018 South Dublin County Council has used traffic light boxes to exhibit high quality, creative artwork to the public. Traffic light control boxes make perfect canvases to showcase community art as they are always naturally located in high footfall – high traffic areas. The artwork can be enjoyed by pedestrians, cyclist, and motorists as they wait for the traffic light to turn green.

It is not possible to quantify the Council's response to graffiti in terms of time spent on this activity.  The response covers a number of aspects including painting staff removing graffiti from litter bins and bring banks for example, construction crews removing graffiti from blockwork walls using a cement-wash technique as well a specialist chemical removal of graffiti carried out by specialist contractors and a crew managed by the probation service.  The budget provision for all these activities in 2023 is €98,100 and is likely to be similar in 2024.