THREE DUBLIN CITY parks are in danger of not being maintained as council workers say they are too dangerous to work in, a TD has claimed.

Gary Gannon, the Social Democrats justice spokesman and a Dublin Central TD since 2020, has highlighted significant problems with violence and intimidation by young men engaged in the drugs trade in the north inner city.

Speaking to The Journal, Gannon said that while extra gardaí have been deployed to the city centre successfully, he believes that there is a knock-on effect that local parks and communities in his area are under-policed.

It was announced in March that a large number of gardaí, fresh from their training in Templemore, were being sent to Dublin to perform high-visibility patrols in the city. 

However Gannon says that a number of north city parks – Mountjoy Square, Diamond Park and Liberty Park – remain no-go areas for locals at certain times of day as a result of lack of policing. Anti-social behaviour in the three parks has been an issue for years, Gannon said, but the issue has been exacerbated in recent months.

He said there are also problems with anti-social behaviour along the Royal Canal, running between North Wall and Croke Park.

He said in those areas and in flat complexes around the area there is a significant problem with open drug dealing and drug-related intimidation.

“It doesn’t seem to be policed,” Gannon said. 

“There definitely has been an improvement in the commercial city centre. There’s a lot more guards in there, but the displacement from other areas is being felt by communities in the north inner city. 

“There is a lot of violence, open drug dealing that just seems to be tolerated, particularly in the park areas, and it’s having a genuine impact,” he said. 

Gannon said that he and other local leaders have informed the gardaí and the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan about the issue. 

“We have a scenario now where council workers are telling us they won’t go into the parks,” he said. 

Gannon said that he and other local people believe that there may be a policy by gardaí to contain the issues in local communities.

Garda sources The Journal spoke to said that it is simply an issue with numbers of gardaí – and that there are simply not enough available to police the areas mentioned by the TD. 

Social Democrat TD Gary Gannon. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Drug intimidation

While there is still drug debt intimidation, Gannon said that it has evolved and that now people who are moving drugs around the city are not being paid by gangs but instead are being forced to do it to pay off money owed. 

He said there is also a significant problem of young men and boys on scooters and scramblers who are moving drugs around the city. 

“It’s definitely got worse, but it’s also got a lot more insidious.

“The guards have done very, very significant work in terms of breaking up the idea of the gangs but that has led to them innovating and they’re having kids operating as drug mules – they’re having people in their debt operating as drug mules.

“The gangs are no longer shooting at each other, and the guards should be commended for that, but the product they were fighting over in the first place is still there.

“Now the sale of that product is being done by people who are in very, very vulnerable situations – they are being exploited and groomed,” he said. 

Gannon called on O’Callaghan to treat the issue “as if it was something that was happening in his own constituency over in Dublin 4″.

Mountjoy Square, Dublin. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Drive programme

At a recent appearance before the Oireachtas justice committee Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon spoke about the measures gardaí are employing. 

“We certainly have patrols all throughout the city from a family engagement standpoint, with respect to drug related intimidation.

“We know that many of these cases aren’t reported, and I just want to signal that the Drive Program has just been released, where families have an opportunity that they can come to us if needs be, but oftentimes they’re using other methods, and it’s a great way for them to get help and support,” she said. 

The Drive Project (Drug Related Intimidation & Violence Engagement) is an interagency project to respond to the issue. 

The programme is funded by the Department of Health through its drug initiative and is designed to be a holistic response. 

In a statement the Dublin City Council (DCC) denied Gannon’s claims and said there “it is not the case that parks staff are being so intimidated by drug gangs in the inner city that they are afraid to work in parks.”

“The safety of our staff is of paramount importance to the City Council and we have clear internal procedures for staff to report such incidents to management and safety protocols in place for staff working in areas with these risks,” it said. 

The DCC said there were “ongoing and regular communication” between workers, management and Health & Safety Officers ensures that any “issues of concern can be raised and dealt with”.

It said that the council was “actively” working to tackle anti-social behaviour in parks.

“Such behaviour can lead to a decline in public usage of city parks, creating a perception of lack of safety which further discourages their use and diminishes their community value.

“DCC actively liaise with An Garda Síochána to request increased patrols and visible presence in the affected parks. There is also regular engagement with existing Community Safety Partnerships in Dublin’s North East Inner City.” 

It said that DCC also participate in programmes for community outreach and other youth services to deal with the “underlying issues that may lead to drug use and anti-social behaviour among young people”.

“DCC also regularly attend community policing forums which foster stronger relationships between Gardaí, parks staff, and local residents to build trust and encourage reporting,” it added.

Jim O’Callaghan has, in the past, called for more gardaí in Dublin and also said that new technology is needed to better police the streets. He has also said there must be more robust work on knife crime.