DUBLIN CITY Council is trying to eradicate the sight of runners and football boots dangling from overhead power lines in the city, which a councillor says are being used as "advertisements" by drug dealers to mark their turf.
Councillor Ray McHugh raised the issue at last week's meeting of the South Central Area Committee, asking if it was the policy of the council to remove the dangling footwear "to prevent the advertisement of drugs for sale in the Dublin 12 area".
The council said that an electrical contractor was hired last year to remove shoes from lines in an adjoining area of the city.
"This action was undertaken on a pilot basis at considerable expense," said Declan Ronan, housing manager for the Crumlin area. "The results were closely monitored and, disappointingly, the runners/football boots were replaced in a matter of days in most cases."
Mr Ronan plans to approach residents' associations "to explore joint alternative initiatives to tackle this community issue".
Cllr McHugh said drug dealers were using the suspended boots and runners to advertise their presence in all of the areas he represents - Drimnagh, Crumlin, Walkinstown and Kimmage.
"It is something that is throughout Dublin now, it is widespread. Everywhere you go you will see it. I don't know where the idea originally came from.
"It is normally runners that they use and they are normally fairly new runners for some reason. It looks as if they go out and buy them and throw them up there.
"I suppose the boots and runners are a sort of barometer of how widespread drug dealing is now. It is out of control."
Cllr McHugh said people who stand around under the dangling footwear will be approached.
"If you are standing around near them they will know that you want to buy."
Cllr McHugh said it would be very difficult to stamp out the footgear advertisements.
"In fairness to the council they said it would take a full-time crew to be out there.
"The crew would only have left one area and they [ the drug dealers] would be back with another load of runners.
"It is also a big problem for the gardaí; you would need one standing around watching every pair of suspended runners," he said.