COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF LUCAN / PALMERSTOWN / NORTH CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

MOTION NO. 1

MOTION: Councillor L. O'Toole

Cathaoirleach’s Business

That this committee requests the Chief Executive to conduct an immediate assessment of the pedestrian walkthrough from Castle Riada Drive to Castle Road, which has become a persistent hotspot for littering, broken glass, discarded gas canisters, and antisocial behaviour posing a serious safety risk to residents. This motion calls for regular cleaning and maintenance to address ongoing litter issues, engagement with the Gardaí to deter antisocial behaviour, and a review of surrounding trees and bushes to assess whether modifications could improve visibility and discourage loitering. Additionally, it requests an exploration of further safety measures, such as improved lighting or CCTV installation, and an update on any previous or ongoing efforts to address these concerns, ensuring a long-term solution for the area. Immediate action is needed to enhance safety and restore the walkway as a secure and welcoming route for all residents.

REPORT:

The most recent inspection of this area, by the Litter Warden, was on Thursday 17th April. The Litter Warden reported finding several bags of green garden waste, broken glass and a couple of bags of household waste. There was no identifiable evidence found when bags were searched. No gas canisters were visible on this occasion.

Litter picking is carried out on the open space as part of routine grass cutting operations in the area.  An inspection of the hedgerows and shrub areas will be carried out for the presence of litter and an additional clean up will be organised where required. 

The Public Realm Section have carried out works at this location in the past to deal with anti-social problems. Works have included the removal of shrubbery at the south end of the open space adjacent to Castle Riada Drive. A section of hedge approximately 47 metres long was also removed from either side of the Castle Road pedestrian entrance to the open space. Following on from this work, a 17-metre section of hedge along the boundary of the open space was reduced in height. Works on the hedges was carried in consultation with the residents to increase visibility of the open space and reduce cover for anti-social activities.

In the intervening years the vegetation on the open space has grown and further intervention in the form of pruning or shrub/tree removal may be required during the winter pruning season.  An examination of the area will be carried out to determine what further improvements can be made.

The path across the open space that connects Castle Riada Drive to Castle Road is listed on the 2025 Public Realm Improvement Works Programme for widening and surfacing to alleviate flooding.  As part of this work the trees growing alongside the path and in the vicinity of the three public lighting columns will be examined to see if they can pruned/removed to improve lighting in the area. The public lighting columns have already been upgraded to LED.

CCTV is appropriate where the intention is to deter environmental pollution and aid in the detection and prosecution of offences under the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended and the Litter Pollution Act 1997, as amended. CCTV can only be deployed for specific operational tasks in specific designated locations and not used for general patrol/ surveillance, i.e. a camera can only be focused on a discrete location and not a broad general area. Automated number plate recognition and facial recognition devices are explicitly excluded.

To justify the necessity of implementing a CCTV Scheme for environmental enforcement issues at a specific location, evidence to prove necessity is based on the number of:

Before proposing a CCTV scheme, SDCC has to demonstrate, in accordance with the codes of practice, that less intrusive measures have been considered.

South Dublin has a listing of sites across the county in which less intrusive measures are being deployed and it is only where these less intrusive measures fail that a business case for the deployment of a CCTV scheme may be prepared for recommendation by the CCTV oversight board to the Chief Executive for authorisation.

In situations that extend beyond the capacity of South Dublin County Councils service e.g. anti-social behaviour, drug dealing etc, SDCC will make contact with An Garda Síochána to provide assistance. 

There is currently no CCTV in use in this area. Section 38 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 provides that the Garda Commissioner may authorise the installation and operation of CCTV for the sole or primary purpose of securing public order and safety in public places by facilitating the deterrence, prevention, detection and prosecution of offences. Authorisation may be given to An Garda Síochána or to “persons who meet the established criteria and whose application for authorisation in respect of a specified area within the administrative area of a local authority has been approved by the local authority after consulting with the joint policing committee for that administrative area.”

Applications for Community Based CCTV must also be supported by crime statistics and a crime prevention report.  There are five steps involved:

The proposal for Community Based CCTV under Section 38 requires approval from the Joint Policing Committee.   Following the June 2024 Local Elections, the South Dublin Joint Policing Committee was not re-established.  A new Local Community Safety Partnership is soon to be established once the legislation is enacted.  New CCTV legislation is also to be enacted.