Dublin People - Councillor raises drug dealing concerns

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Councillor raises drug dealing concerns

Friday, 04 April 2008

A Southside councilor has claimed that drug dealing locations are being marked by pushers who are dangling runners from overhead power lines.
Dublin city councillor Ray McHugh (SF) said it was a common sight in areas like Crumlin, Drimnagh and Kimmage.
He recently asked the manager of the South Central Area committee if it was the policy of the local authority to remove runners displayed in such a manner.
In response, the council said that an electrical contractor was engaged in 2007 to remove all runners/football boots from power lines in an adjoining area.
Expense
Declan Ronan, housing manager for the Crumlin area, said: “This action was undertaken on a pilot basis at considerable expense. The results were closely monitored and, disappointingly, the runners or football boots were replaced in a matter of days in most cases.”

In addition, the Crumlin Area Office said it intended to approach residents’ associations and community groups in the area to explore joint alternative initiatives to tackle the issue.
Cllr McHugh acknowledged that the council had tried to solve the problem and admitted that it would be difficult to eradicate.
“This is not easily sorted out,” he said. “The council did run a trial period to see if it would work but it ended up being too expensive because a few hours later there were runners up again.
“You would need a full team out there to do this constantly. It couldn’t be sustained really.
“There is talk that the council will talk to community groups in the area and maybe residents’ associations and see can they work something out locally so that each area can take responsibility for this,” he added.
“The whole point is to make people aware of the fact that if they see these runners, then drugs are being dealt in the neighbourhood. It is amazing the number of people who don’t realise what the runners represent.”
Meanwhile, a motion by Cllr McHugh at the Dublin City Council South Central local area committee meeting, calling on the management of the Luas to hire extra security staff to protect passengers on the red line from Connolly Station to Tallaght, was also passed.
Cllr McHugh said he had received numerous complaints from constituents who claimed to have witnessed the open consumption of alcohol and illegal drugs by fellow passengers.
“There should be a visible security presence to act as a deterrent against this anti-social behaviour, and not just on the late night service,” Cllr McHugh said. “Action should be taken now by Luas management who are responsible for the safety and security of all passengers.”
A notice of the passed motion has been forwarded to Luas management.
Travel
A spokesperson for the company that manages the Luas – Veolia - said their system was a “very safe one to travel on”.
“We do have security on board the trams on certain evenings right up until the end of service,” he said. “There is CCTV on board the trams and also at the stops. There is also an emergency health point at the stops.
“We always review the security on board the trams and at the stops and we have an excellent relationship with the gardaí,” he added. “We have regular meetings with the gardaí across the different divisions.”

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