Cllrs adopt antisocial behaviour strategy

The problems of antisocial behaviour in both local authority and private estates in Kells was highlighted by councillors at their monthly meeting last week. Councillors adopted the county council's new Antisocial Behaviour Strategy, but councillors said that it wouldn't deal with all the antisocial behaviour problems in the town. Councillors were told that the strategy applied to local authority housing only. Cllr Tommy Grimes said that eveyone knew there was antisocial behaviour in private estates also and a lot of ghost estates were causing problems as well. “The developers should be made lock up those houses and leave thems safe,†he said. Cllr Bryan Reilly said it was scandalous the way some houses were left by tenants who leave. However, he pointed out that 99 per cent of the council's tenants were excellent, but some houses that had been handed back needed €30,000 spent on them to put them right. Cllr Sean Drew said that some people's lives were being made a misery by the antisocial behaviour of others and the problem also existed in private estates, where people who had caused problems as council tenants were then housed by the HSE. “It is so unfair that people spend big money on big mortgages and then families are dumped beside them, and are paid for by these same people who are having their lives ruined by them,†he said. Cllr Brian Curran said he would worry about the implementation of the antisocial behaviour policy. He said new policies were put in place in 1997, but nothing was really done. “The same people who were causing problems in 1997 are still causing problems and the follow-up to complaints is deplorable,†he claimed. Cllr Sarah Reilly said that the cost of repairing houses when some people leave was a terrible waste of taxpayers' money. She said the minister should be lobbied so that legislation would allow attachment orders on people's wages to pay for those repairs. Cllr Conor Ferguson pointed out that it could be two years from when antisocial behaviour is reported before it comes before the courts, and they had to get parents to be responsible.