Residents’ anger as heroin addicts ‘score’ at open drug market

A number of locals made a complaint to Gardaí on Wednesday morning that a number of addicts were in the process of buying heroin from a dealer behind Westside Church.

However, Councillor Mike Cubbard said the residents were told there were no Gardaí available to deal with the situation.

“The lads who spotted this rang the Gardai straight away. The answer they got from the Gardai was ‘today is a busy day… everybody is up in court and there are no guards available to call out to you.

“It shows how bad it’s gotten now that they’re doing this in broad daylight beside a church at 11 in the morning… there is a huge frustration out there with the locals at the moment.”

However, a Garda spokesperson said that any reports of illegal drugs usage or sale would be investigated thoroughly.

“We would ask that if anyone notices anything suspicious in terms of illegal drugs changing hands that they would contact the Gardai immediately. We deploy a lot of resources into securing prosecutions in relation to the use of drugs in the city with many, many people brought before the courts and convicted,” said the spokesperson.

Cllr Cubbard explained that this frustration wasn’t just in relation to the incident on Wednesday morning, there are deeper lying issues in the area.

“I for one am sick and tired of waking up to hear another house has been robbed in Westside, another car vandalised outside a person’s home or more used drug paraphernalia found in public areas where children have direct access to,” he said.

The failure of the Gardai to respond has left locals “feeling frustrated” according to Cllr Cubbard.

“The guards have to respond, it’s not good enough for a guard to tell you that they’re all in court and there is no one available,” urged Cllr Cubbard.

He plans to introduce a Community Text Alert scheme for the Westside area, following a spate of burglaries and incidents of vandalism in recent weeks.

A public meeting for next Tuesday (May 19) at 7pm in the Westside Community Centre to discuss the text alert system.

“I believe it can help Westside and the Gardaí in curtailing these acts of crime. Items can be replaced, but the thought of a person in your home stays forever and two more burglaries in recent days locally means it's simply time to act.”

He cited the new Westside Sports Campus as signs of the areas rejuvenation, and feels that the establishment of a community text alert system would be of great benefit to the area.

“Westside has come a long way over the years and the latest addition in the state of the art park and playground is testament to this. I do not want to allow a minority of people drag a fantastic community down and feel passionate about this.”

“People deserve to feel safe in their home and their community and as a local public representative I feel it my responsibility to try find solutions,” he said.

Cllr Cubbard has urged all residents in Westside to attend, and he has also invited the Community Garda and the City Council Tenant Liaison Officer to also attend.