Tag Archives: anti-social behaviour

MANY residents of certain Newmarket housing estates have had to start taking psychiatric medication to deal with the stress being caused by the anti social behaviour of their neighbours. Some of them met with The Clare Champion last week, but none were prepared to be named, so concerned were they about the threat of a backlash from the problematic neighbours. They also requested that their estates not be named either. One man said that hundreds of complaints have been made to Clare County Council about the problems, which have emerged over the last year. “Residents are so concerned that they contacted the CEO of Clare County Council recently, just to make him aware of the ongoing issues. Anti social behaviour, drugs, that kind of thing, and he has been asked to intervene to sort these issues. It’s a huge concern for the majority of the residents in the estates,” he said. However, he said nothing has been done to help …

VANDALISM in the local playground has prompted a staff of Clare County Council to contact Crusheen Gardaí. The matter was raised by the incoming Cathaoirleach of the Killaloe Municipal District when members held their July meeting. Councillor Alan O’Callaghan said he had been asked by locals in Crusheen to raise the issue. He tabled a motion calling for lighting or other works to stamp out the problem.   “There have been a few incidents of anti-social behaviour recently within the playground,” he said. “I think that a few lights leading into the playground would be ideal.” The Kilmurry man thanked Community Playground Coordinator, John Treacy for a reply to his motion. He said the problem of anti-social behaviour wasn’t widespread, but that there were concerns in Crusheen. “There are a lot of lovely playgrounds, on some occasions, anti social behaviour happens,” he said. “We don’t have too much of it, but the problem is rising in Crusheen area and I hope …

AHEAD of the August Bank Holiday weekend, renewed concerns have been voiced about a spike in unauthorised camping and the flouting of bye-laws at a number of waterside amenities in East Clare.  Local councillors were told that, at one small harbour, signage showing that camping is prohibited had been painted over and blanked out, by those illegally using the car park overnight.  At the July meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District committee, Councillor Pat Burke highlighted recent issues at waterside facilities at Killaloe, Mountshannon and Dromaan. “Unfortunately, there is vandalism and anti-social behaviour going on this summer at some of our amenities,” he said. “If you take the toilet block in Mountshannon, there are constant issues every week. I have spoke to Gardaí about this and they are aware of it.” The Whitegate native also expressed his annoyance at issues involving jetskis in Killaloe and Mountshannon. “Some people are responsible jetski users, but the majority are not,” he said. “I …

AN ENNIS Councillor has hit out at “anti-social criminals” creating havoc in their own homes and neighbourhoods.  In a motion tabled at the July meeting of the local authority, Councillors Johnny Flynn, Clare Colleran Molloy and Pat Daly, called for a “multi-agency emergency response team” to address the problem. They also sought greater protection for the children living in homes with those engaging in anti-social behaviour.   Councillor Flynn said that despite the great work of the Council’s tenancy enforcement unit, there are “communities in crisis”. “This is because of a very small number of  people,” he said, “who are basically criminals and getting away with it. The tenancy team is already answering around 500 calls a month and doing an extraordinary job, but there are people living in terrible situations, locked into mortgages, who cannot move away from these issues.” Councillor Colleran Molloy pointed out that the tenancy enforcement team is not a permanent one. “We want the tenancy …

A NEW proposal calling for Clare County Council to set up a multi-agency emergency response to anti-social behaviour in council tenants will be debated at the authority’s July meeting. It has been proposed that co-operation between agencies is necessary to quickly and effectively deal with, and if necessary to evict, the small number of tenants who engage in persistent anti-social behaviour. Councillor Johnny Flynn, who is proposing this motion, said “neighbours from hell” whose persistent anti-social behaviour comes under the terms of the adopted Clare County Council Behaviour Strategy 2020-2026 need to be dealt with in order to protect adjoining residents and community and prevent damage to badly-needed housing stock. This strategy was adopted in 2021 to prevent and reduce anti-social behaviour in the 3,000 plus tenancies in areas across Clare where the council has tenancy dwellings, RAS and social leasing. This motion, which is being supported by Mayor of Ennis, Clare Colleran-Molloy and other Ennis councillors, also calls on …

CLARE County Council is coming under pressure to lead a multi-agency approach to tackle persistent anti-social behaviour after Ennis residents outlined their experiences of “neighbours from hell” for almost seven years. Councillor Johnny Flynn, Ennis Mayor, Clare Colleran-Molloy and Councillor Mary Howard have called for a multi-agency approach involving the council, Tusla, Clare Gardai, councillors, and residents to evict local authority tenants who are causing havoc in estates. Their call came after hearing a litany of complaints from frustrated residents who claimed they were “living in fear” and were “prisoners in their own homes” at a residents’ meeting on Monday night, which was also attended by Councillor Paul Murphy and Councillor Mark Nestor. One resident in the affected Ennis estate described Family A as the “neighbours from hell”. She has asked to remain anonymous and for the estate to remain unnamed due to residents’ fear of a reprisal. “We are living in fear. There is intimidation, verbal abuse and physical …

CONCERN that recent incidences of anti-social behaviour in Ennis, including a house being targeted with a petrol bomb, could lead to the county capital receiving a bad reputation nationally have been expressed. At this monthly meeting of Ennis Municipal District Councillor Pat Daly urged the public to contact the Garda Confidential line if they see anything suspicious in a bid to stamp out anti-social behaviour. Councillor Pat Daly insisted “it is important that this type of behaviour is eliminated”. The councillor commented that Ennis has been getting a “bad name” in recent times due to anti-social behaviour including the petrol bombing and incidences where drugs offences are committed. “The drugs situation is very serious,” he said. He outlined that from speaking with gardaí he has been told that those who witness illegal activity are often afraid to report it. “The only way to alleviate this is to ring the garda confidential line,” he said. The meeting was told that the …

THE last couple of years have seen many complaints of anti-social behaviour around Shannon, and this week two men have spoken about their homes repeatedly having been attacked by local teenagers. The two houses are in a relatively prominent part of the town, and the occupants say that they, and two other neighbouring properties have been targeted again and again. One of the men said that he is utterly sick of his home being damaged, and with Gardai saying they can do little due to the age of those involved, he says he will protect his own home in future. “I’ve been to the Guards a number of times, they do nothing about it, they don’t care, they’re not interested, so I’m taking it into my own hands. I’m sick of it, I went to three houses and the parents didn’t give a f**k.” He said that videos of the offenders have been shown to Gardai, but there is no …