COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM / TEMPLEOGUE / FIRHOUSE / BOHERNABREENA AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

QUESTION NO. 11

QUESTION: Councillor E. Murphy

To ask the Council for a report on graffiti in the Ballycullen and Stocking Wood areas including the amount of graffiti that has been cleaned up in the area and the cost of that clean up.

REPLY:

From January 2023 to date, Public Realm has removed graffiti from 12 areas in the Ballycullen/Stockingwood area. There were an additional 10 more that have been forwarded to the public lighting section for their examination and action.

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.

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. 

It is not possible to quantify the Council's response to graffiti, in terms of time spent on this activity.  Our 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 as a specialist chemical removal of graffiti carried out by specialist contractors, and a crew managed by the probation service.  The budget provision for all of these activities in 2023 for the whole county is €98,100 and is likely to be similar in 2024.