This article is from page 18 of the 2013-02-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
A SUMMIT-LIKE meeting involving elected representatives, the gardaí and the HSE is to take place in Ennis in the wake of a demand from Ennis Town Council that benefit payments being given to perpetrators of antisocial behaviour be cut off as a matter of urgency.
The Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Peter Considine (FF), has been mandated by the nine-member Ennis Town Council authority to convene the meeting as a matter of urgency amid claims that anti-social behaviour in a number of housing estates in Ennis has got out of hand.
The matter was raised at the February monthly meeting of the town authority on Monday during a debate on the publication of the Estate Management Annual Report 2012.
This report revealed that the number of complaints made about anti-social behaviour dropped from 75 in 2011 to 44 in 2012. However, amid claims that people are afraid to report incidents of anti-social behaviour for fear of reprisals, the council are backing a proposal that the HSE be taken to task for “rewarding” anti-social behaviour.
“We have a very irresponsible HSE, where money is being given to tenants who are causing difficulty,” claimed former Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind).
“The HSE have to take something from this report. They can no longer be giving money out to anyone – they are giving money to people who are causing major difficulties inside in private estates. Someone has to take this on board.
“People are in major difficulties in trying to pay their mortgages and there is somebody living next door who is being subsidised by the health board making their lives very difficult. We are all aware of them.
“The health board have to be taken to task – it can’t continue to be supporting people who are anti-social, in rewarding people who are anti-social,” added Cllr Guilfoyle.
These words were echoed by Cllr Paul O’Shea (Ind), who said that “some of what’s going on in estates in Ennis is of national concern.
“The days are gone for discussing this anymore. We need some action on this. You, as mayor of this town, need to be calling a meeting with the HSE and the chief superintendent of the gardaí and with elected members to see how we can go forward.”
This meeting is set to be organised in the coming weeks.