Enniscorthy bollards disappearing ‘like no one’s business’ as council reveal that public are now stealing road signs too

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Enniscorthy’s insatiable appetite for bollards shows no signs of abating with the public continuing to uproot them despite warnings from the council.

Last year it was reported that pencil bollards outside schools in the town were being stolen and then being repurposed to stop people parking outside houses. At that point, Councillor John O’Rourke said that, of the 28 bollards installed at Duffry Gate less than half remained.

At the September meeting of the Enniscorthy Municipal District (EMD) he had an update on the status of these valuable commodities.

“At one stage there were 28 of them at Duffry Gate, now there’s only six,” he revealed. “They’re disappearing like no-one’s business. And they’re expensive too. I’d like to know where they’re going; I have a fair idea actually.”

While Cllr O’Rourke did not divulge any further details, Cllr Jackser Owens had a theory of his own.

“It’s costing us thousands to install them and then someone just takes them,” he said. “What they’re doing with them, I don’t know, unless they’re bringing them for scrap.

“This is a safety issue for the people living there. Have we no cameras in this area?”

District engineer Neil Dempsey was as nonplussed as the councillors and said it wasn’t just bollards that were being stolen.

“In another instance, we were putting out signs to say we were carrying out road works and those signs were taken too,” he said. “That was reported to the guards. I don’t know what the attraction is to road signs and bollards, but it’s costing us a substantial amount of money.”