Estate in Mayo town is plagued by anti-social behaviour
A Castlebar councillor’s proposal to set up a dedicated unit of council staff to deal with anti-social behaviour in the town’s estates has been dismissed by colleagues as lacking realism.
Independent Cllr Harry Barrett made the unusual proposal in response to a letter that councillors received from a concerned resident regarding ongoing incidents of anti-social behaviour and violence in a local authority estate in the town.
Cllr Barrett said the letter was a call to action and the council needed to take action against people causing mayhem.
“I propose a dedicated unit of three or four staff backed by a legal team to make files on all the transgressors who are destroying lives in that housing estate,” he said. “Three strikes and you’re out.”
Long-serving Independent Cllr Michael Kilcoyne said anti-social behaviour had been a long-standing issue and there was little that could be done.
“I had a full head of hair when I started asking Mayo County Council and the Gardaí to do something about this and look at me now,” he said. “It is not the staff’s job to enforce the law, that is a matter for the Gardaí and if they intend to prosecute, then it is a matter for the DPP.”
Fine Gael Cllr Donna Sheridan said she agreed with the spirit of Cllr Barrett’s proposal but “realism has to come in.”
“Where do you get these four extra people from? The resources and the technicality just are not there and this is practically not feasible.”
Fianna Fáil Cllr Al McDonnell said it would be unfair to ask the staff in the council’s housing section to take on additional responsibilities, adding that Castlebar has 93 estates and a new taskforce would require new staff.
Head of the district David Mellett said there is a policy in place that the council must follow when evicting troublesome tenants, beginning with warning letters.
“We can’t just jump to repossession,” he said.
Cllr Barrett said he accepted the points made but maintained that a firmer hand and a dedicated unit, or concept of a unit, was needed to deal with these issues.
Cllr Kilcoyne added that the council could go through each step of the policy to remove a tenant but would still have to deal with those tenants.
“We can go through the whole process, we can get them out of the houses but the council has to turn around the following day and accommodate them in emergency accommodation somewhere,” he said.
