Councillors back CCTV for Carrigaline parklet following vandalism

THERE has been unanimous support from county councillors for a motion to install CCTV cameras at the parklet in Carrigaline.

The motion was proposed by Fine Gael councillor Jack White to curb the incidents of vandalism to some of the infrastructure in the parklet.

Cllr White said: “The motion is coming from a place of frustration and anger especially from the voluntary members of Carrigaline Tidy Towns and others who voluntarily do work on the upkeep of Carrigaline. 

"Time and time again, especially in recent weeks, there have been incidents of vandalism and criminal damage to some of the infrastructure in the parklet. We need to keep the issue of CCTV on the agenda.”

Cllr White highlighted his frustration at the lack of active Garda presence in Carrigaline.

“The parklet is one of the standout additions to Carrigaline and it is very frustrating to see the criminal damage on several occasions. It is against a backdrop of a lack of an active Garda presence in Carrigaline. There aren’t enough active members of An Garda Síochána on patrol in Carrigaline.”

Cllr Seamus McGrath echoed his fellow councillor’s sentiments with the delay in rolling out CCTV in Carrigaline. 

“The ongoing delay and difficulties in rolling out CCTV are deeply frustrating. CCTV is unfortunately needed. Members of the public don’t care about the issue of who manages the data necessarily; that is something public bodies need to work out. 

"We need CCTV on the ground. It is soul-destroying to see the great work being done by volunteers in Carrigaline be undone by such mindless vandalism that takes place from time to time.”

The Fianna Fáil councillor said it isn’t good enough to have only two or three members of the gardaí working in a big town such as Carrigaline on a busy weekend night.

“CCTV will help and act as a deterrent. It can’t be everywhere, but it does need to be in the areas that are being targeted frequently such as the parklet and the Community Park. We hope that this is an issue that can be progressed in 2022. It is very difficult to understand why we don’t have it in place in a town the size of Carrigaline.

“We have a 24-hour Garda service but unfortunately the boots on the ground are not sufficient. It isn’t good enough that you would have only two or three members of the guards on duty on a Friday or Saturday night in Carrigaline. It simply isn’t enough for a town of this size,” he added.

Cllr Ben Dalton O’Sullivan said he hopes Carrigaline will benefit from the extra gardaí to be recruited nationally next year. “Carrigaline is a nice place. It is not a crime area. It is a growing town with over 20,000 people in the greater area. What people need to see is a community garda in the station dealing with queries. We need a full-time Garda presence. There were additional resources announced recently for extra gardaí, so we would be looking at a minimum of one or two of those to come to Carrigaline. We deserve it.”

Cllr Audrey Buckley said she is hopeful Crosshaven garda station will be reopened during the summer season moving forward.

“We have also asked for the Crosshaven station to be opened during the summer months for community policing on the ground. Hopefully, in the new year, new measures will be in place to stop the vandalism.”