Dublin city's anti-social behaviour league table as figures broken down by area
Over 2400 anti-social behaviour related complaints were received by Dublin City Council in 2025.
With recent arson attacks on social homes and drug-related intimidation standing as an “epidemic” within the Council’s estate management team, a working group is being formed to address the plight of aggression, misconduct, and vandalism across Dublin city. In a presentation delivered at the Housing and Social Inclusion SPC, Claire Dempsey stated that, out of the 2415 total complaints, 103 of them were escalated as “serious anti-social behaviour cases.”
These 103 investigations led to 12 tenancy warnings, with three possession orders leading to eviction and a further eight warnings served this year. The Central Area received the most total complaints at 626, followed by 551 in the North West, 501 in South Central, 471 in North Central and 466 in the South East Area.
Dublin City Council ’s powers to deal with issues of anti-social behaviour (ASB) are separate and distinct from the role of An Garda Síochána investigating and prosecuting criminal acts. Councils are permitted to act when ASB has occurred in or in the vicinity of a house provided by a housing authority under the Housing Acts, and their enforcement action is linked to a breach of tenancy.
Mick Clarke from the estate management unit said their powers cover everything related to drugs excluding personal use. “If somebody is smoking joints in their property this is not an issue for the local authority,” he said, explaining this is deemed a criminal matter to be dealt with by the police. “They are not affecting the community, therefore we don’t have a role,” he said.
Independent Councillor Cieran Perry took issue with this stance and said he fails to understand why personal use of drugs isn’t considered ASB by the Council “given that drugs are criminalised, given we have the smell of weed emanating into other people’s properties,” he said. With empty canisters of nitrous oxide found dumped around local playgrounds, Cllr Perry said “it’s just mad that legislation wouldn’t cover that." He said he welcomes the idea of a working group and that there’s a need to blatantly address the issues that communities are facing.
“There are raids on drug dealers in my community and the council isn't informed because of GDPR, it’s like a comedy,” he said, stressing that those intimating communities need to face consequences. While “nobody wants to see people losing their homes,” Cllr Perry stated those responsible for anti-social behaviour should be evicted.
“We should publicise when we evict people,” he said. “The carrot’s gone, this is all stick now. The people dealing drugs and intimating communities need to know there are consequences. We need that to be in the papers.”
Ms Dempsey explained that before evictions take place the council must demonstrate, as set out in the Housing Act 2014, that steps have been taken to afford the tenant sufficient opportunity to cease, or not repeat, specified actions. These include a Level 1 verbal warning, written warnings at Level 2, and having complaints escalated to the estate management central unit at Level 3 before an eviction order and court proceedings commence. This process is because Dublin City Council must be able to prove in court that their actions were “proportionate, reasonable, justifiable and equitable” for an eviction to stand.
The planned working group aims to bring relevant stakeholders together to come up with a new strategy for anti-social behaviour for 2028. Assistant Chief Executive for Housing Mick Mulhern stated they hope to have their first meeting within one month.
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