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People sniffing cocaine off a window sill, open drug dealing and threats of intimidation were among complaints made to local authorities last year in relation to anti-social behaviour occurring in council-owned properties.
People were threatened with knives, golf clubs and steel bats, as well as hurley sticks, according to the complaints.
In August, one complainant told Limerick City and County Council that crack cocaine and heroin were being sold from the front door of a council property.
Kerry County Council received a request from a tenant seeking a transfer due to intimidation. They claimed other people in the estate were drug dealers and the problem had been going on for years.
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Another tenant told the same council their neighbours were shouting and arguing all night. They reported they could hear physical violence inside the house and people were sniffing cocaine off the window sill outside the property.
Complaints about intimidation, drugs, verbal abuse, loud music and brawls were made to Longford County Council.
It was alleged too that minors were being sold cigarettes from a council property, and another report alleged squatters had entered a property and changed the locks.
Parties
Roscommon County Council received reports of noise, parties, drinking in public, as well as drug use in a council property.
Concerns were also raised about some tenants’ children, who were described as not being washed, fed or attending school, and it was alleged the children were playing outside into the early hours of the morning.
The details were released following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to all 31 local authorities, asking for copies of complaints about anti-social behaviour received in relation to council housing over the six-month period from March to August 2021.
Some local authorities would only release numerical data on the number of complaints received.
Kildare and Meath County Councils refused the FOI request.
The request to Laois County Council was withdrawn as the council did not have a centralised database to deal with it.
Dublin City Council received 1,974 complaints, the most out of any council in the country, over the period.
Fingal, Tipperary and South Dublin County Councils had the next highest number of complaints. Mayo County Council only received eight complaints, the lowest number out of all councils.
Similar data on anti-social behaviour occurring in privately owned houses is not subject to FOI, and gardaí would usually deal with these complaints.
Anti-social behaviour is a problem that occurs in both council and privately owned houses, said Limerick councillor Frankie Daly.
Mr Daly, who is a youth worker, said more community gardaí are needed.
Community gardaí, who are involved in local sports clubs and youth clubs, are vital to stopping anti-social behaviour: “At one time in Limerick, they would have been like a parish priest, they were so important . . . feet on the street, a smile on their face, knowing the young people . . . that made a difference.”
Mr Daly said council tenants are fortunate they can take complaints to their local authority, which are then mediated through an official process.
Accountability
Homeowners and those in the private rental market don’t have this same system, and many of his constituents experience anti-social behaviour, sometimes from students, he said.
“Sometimes people might not think they are being loud, but their neighbour disagrees . . . we are all human beings but at the end of the day, there has to be a bit of accountability.”
In a statement, the Garda press office said that dedicated gardaí are deployed on a full-time basis to work with communities.
Community safety partnership pilot programmes are currently in place in Dublin’s north inner city, Waterford and Longford, as per the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing.
These partnerships include gardaí, councillors, residents and representatives from new communities, business, education, local authorities, the HSE, Tusla and the youth and voluntary sector.
The commission also recommended the development of a new national community safety policy, which will feed into a new Policing and Community Safety Bill, according to the statement.