Residents of Waterford city's biggest housing estate claim they are "under siege" from vandals and car thieves. Almost a quarter of the residents of Clonard Park, part of the 750-house Ballybeg estate, have applied to Waterford Corporation for transfers to other parts of the city. The residents' association claims people are being intimidated by a small gang of local criminals, mainly teenagers.
On one occasion recently, they say, people stayed up all night and kept watch from their doors after a threat that they would be burned out of their homes.
Gardai, however, say claims of a crime wave are exaggerated and are politically inspired. Supt Michael McGarry said the crime-detection rate in Ballybeg was the highest in the city and gardai were doing a good job in bringing culprits before the courts.
There is recognition, however, that the area has social problems, and this is being addressed on two fronts. A task force with representatives from the local community, the corporation, the Garda and the South-Eastern Health Board is to be established following the adoption of a Workers' Party motion at a recent meeting of the city council.
A meeting of all the groups concerned was held last night. It will recommend short-term and medium-term steps to improve the quality of life of local residents.
For the long term, Waterford Corporation has produced an action plan which envisages increased development in the area but also aims to provide Ballybeg with a new park and commercial centre.
Instead of being a major housing estate with few facilities on the periphery of the city, Ballybeg would become "an intrinsic and central part of a new neighbourhood", the plan suggests.
Residents, however, are impatient for action to tackle the social problems which, they say, have worsened considerably over the past three months. "At one stage recently, two cars a night were being stolen," said Workers' Party councillor Mr John Galligan. "Residents had to park their cars in a private industrial estate." Locals say the criminals are known to them and, although some are as young as 15, they appear to have no fear of the gardai. "They come out at eight or nine o'clock at night," said the secretary of the Clonard Park residents' association, Ms Penny O'Brien. "They're driving around all night long and when they're fed up they burn the cars out."
Residents who speak out against those responsible are threatened with violence, it is claimed. "I was here at one o'clock one morning. The residents had to move their cars off the road and stay up all night because these guys had said they were going to petrolbomb their houses," said Cllr Galligan.
On another occasion, after a resident organised a petition to have alleys closed off, graffiti were sprayed on her gable and other walls in the area with slogans such as "We Rule" and "Ballybeg joyriders - enter at your own risk".
Residents are critical of the gardai who, they claim, are slow to respond to complaints. This is strongly rejected by Supt McGarry, who says the situation is being "hyped" by Cllr Galligan. The area's social problems were not out of the ordinary for a city estate of Ballybeg's size, he said. "There is no such thing as a no-go area in Waterford or anything of that nature."
Gardai had been successful in bringing culprits before the courts, he said, but the force was only one element in the criminal justice system. "Peo ple talk about lenient sentences, but we are doing our job effectively. We don't have the power to lock people away."
Waterford Corporation says 46 residents of Clonard Park have applied for transfers. In addition, four of the park's 215 houses are vacant. While the action plan for Ballybeg is designed to cater for the next 20 years, it does recognise that some immediate measures are needed.
The first phase of the plan would focus on Clonard Park, which is considered to be physically in the worst condition and a microcosm of the area.
