€80,000 arson attack on Beechpark – €3,000 per week for security

THE cost of damages after an arson attack on three units in the Beechpark Traveller accommodation site at the weekend is estimated to be around €80,000, Clare County Council has confirmed.

The council is paying €3,000 a week for round-the-clock security. One serviced bay unit was completely destroyed and two others suffered damage as a result of the vandalism in the early hours of Sunday morning. Residents of the only occupied unit at the accommodation site were away from their home at the time and nobody was injured.

Gardaí in Ennis are continuing their investigation into the incident and a technical examination of the site has been carried out.

It is understood the perpetrators gained entry by scaling the wall at the rear of the development.
Chairperson of the Clare Traveller Accommodation Committee, Brian Meaney has questioned if it is time to “draw a line” on the site and render it inaccessible.

According to a spokesperson for the housing section of Clare County Council, “Preliminary estimates of the total damage caused to three units is €80,000 and the incidents have been reported to An Garda Síochána.

“The council will explore its options regarding the repair or refurbishment of the units. Beechpark has been largely vacant for the past two years in the midst of ongoing threats against Travellers, allegedly being made by other Travellers.   Travellers are advised by the council to report any information about such allegations to An Garda Síochána for investigation.”

There are five units of housing at Beechpark Traveller housing development, three houses and two serviced bays. One of the serviced bays has a current tenancy and the other four units are vacant. The development, completed in 2004, originally consisted of six units but one bay was destroyed by arson three years ago. The capital cost of the development was €2.2m.

Two weeks ago, another Clare County Council property at Ashline was vandalised in an arson attack, while the tenants were not at home. Ashline, a development of six houses was built at a capital cost of €1.7m.  The scheme was first occupied in 1998. The other five houses, three of which were destroyed by arson previously, are vacant.  This matter was also reported to An Garda Síochána.

“The council has secured the site and will now explore its options in relation to repair or refurbishment of the units,” stated the spokesman.

The council is in the final stages of having a CCTV system installed at Beechpark and it is expected that the system will be commissioned by the end of this month. Once the system is commissioned, the existing security arrangement will be terminated. The council has been employing round the clock security at Beechpark at a cost of €3,000 per week. The spokesperson described this arrangement as a “considerable drain” on the council’s resources over the past two years.

Seven units of Traveller accommodation in Ennis, or 11% of the total of 63 units of Traveller accommodation constructed countywide, have been the subject of arson attack.  The number of current vacancies, at 20, represents a 32% vacancy rate. Two entire developments, Ashline and Beechpark, are now vacated of tenants.

Gardaí in Ennis are appealing to anybody with any information to contact them on 065 6848100.
The same homes had to be vacated by Traveller families in the aftermath of an arson attack in February 2010. Clare County Council spent €51,000 refurbishing the units following that incident.

The council had been having difficulty letting the units at Beechpark in recent months because of “intimidation and threats within the Traveller community”.

The chairman of the Clare Traveller Accommodation Committee, Councillor Brian Meaney said, “An immediate and thorough investigation into this latest incident is now required and I hope that local residents will offer their full co-operation to gardaí.”

“As far a I am aware, no one has ever been prosecuted for arson attacks on Traveller accommodation units in Ennis. I hope that every effort is made to track down these culprits and that every assistance is provided to gardaí by anyone who knows or saw anything.”

A spokesman for the local authority said, “Clare County Council is unable to comment while a garda investigation into the incident is ongoing”.

The scene was technically examined yesterday and a garda investigation into the incident is now underway.