Plans for Ballyfermot gambling arcade withdrawn after campaign by residents and councillors
A planning application for a gambling arcade in Ballyfermot has been withdrawn after a spirited campaign by local councillors and residents against it.
The proposal would have turned a former butcher at 304 Ballyfermot Road into a gaming and gambling arcade, but opposition from the local community mounted once planning notices were erected on the building.
Speaking at a council meeting earlier this month, local councillors said they were delighted the application was withdrawn, adding that a gaming arcade would “eat away” at the fabric of Ballyfermot.
Green Party councillor Ray Cunningham said: “A gaming arcade in Ballyfermot will contribute to poverty, it will contribute to mental health problems, it will contribute to family breakdown and domestic violence.”
Sinn Féin councillor Daithí Doolan echoed these sentiments, and placed an emergency motion at the meeting seeking to block the development.
"Some issues transcend party politics and I believe this is one of them,” he said.
"There’s a very close link between gambling and cocaine use and to a lesser extent alcohol. And I think the opening of a gambling arcade or a gaming arcade in Ballyfermot does not contribute anything to the fabric of society, to the community or to the people who live there.”
Mr Doolan said the community of Ballyfermot deserved “the best that we can offer”, rather than “a race to the bottom”.
When DCC senior planner Garrett Hughes informed the meeting that the planning application had just been withdrawn, councillors reacted positively.
"I’m happy it has been withdrawn but I suppose there is a broader point about the fact that we know as a society the damage that gambling addiction causes and it goes far beyond the person engaging,” said Sinn Féin’s Ciarán Ó Meachair.
Independent councillor Vincent Jackson, who chaired the meeting, congratulated those involved in the campaign against the arcade and said it was “definitely a good day”.
Mr Doolan thanked councillors for the cross-party support for his motion, and said it was when members unite on issues that they “preserve the dignity of our office”.
"Sometimes people are a bit flippant around gambling and I’ve seen it so intrinsically linked to other substances,” he said. “You win, you’re delighted so you pick up [drugs]. You walk out angry, you pick up because you’re angry. So, there’s no in-between.”