ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour is a huge issue in Newcastle West, says Independent councillor Jerome Scanlan.
And to get to the root of it, he believes “you need to have discipline and you need to have authority”.
Speaking to the Limerick Post on the issue, Cllr Scanlan said that “we’re in an age now where, to a large extent, parents are obeying their children. Unfortunately, as I see it, maybe some people have to compensate for the fact that they’ve been out at work all day.”
Cllr Scanlan said that “the younger generation seem to think that what’s going is there’s by right, and maybe that’s not a good thing. As far as I’m concerned the jury’s open on it.”
At this month’s meeting of the Newcastle West Municipal District, Cllr Scanlan asked the Council’s Community Sustainment Unit (CSU) to provide a full-time staff member to monitor and control anti-social behaviour in the county town.
The CSU, formerly known as the Estate Management Unit, was strengthened in 2019, and now comprises of an administrative officer and four community sustainment officers. The unit is focuses on three main strands: estate support, individual tenant support, and anti-social behaviour.
Mary Hayes, senior executive officer of the Council’s Housing Support Services said that the local authority is committed to taking appropriate action to prevent, reduce, and respond to incidents of anti-social behaviour and general breaches of tenancy.
“To this end, it works in close cooperation with An Garda  SÃochána and other statutory agencies, both on a case by case basis and, also, on a gender policy level, through regular meetings,” Ms Hayes explained.
“There are strong legal powers available to tackle persistent offenders, including eviction from homes and securing excluding orders from areas against persistent offenders.”
Council members were also told that within the overall CSU, there is a team dedicated to tenancy enforcement issues and the staff resources assigned to monitor and control anti-social behaviour in Newcastle West are “adequate” to address issues that arise.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.