Released prisoner taking photos of ‘neighbour sat on the toilet’ in Wexford housing estate
Wexford PeopleA man recently released from prison and given accommodation in a Co Wexford housing estate has been taking photographs of a “neighbour sitting on the toilet”.
Bringing the case to the attention of Wexford County Council’s (WCC) housing staff, independent councillor John Dwyer said this was just the latest instance of homes being allocated in New Ross to those with questionable backgrounds.
Last month, Cllr Dwyer revealed that a sex offender had been “driven out” of the Ard na Bhile estate by residents and, in a separate case in the same estate, a man of African descent had been “inviting children into his car”.
At the June meeting of WCC, Cllr Dwyer relayed the details of two further cases to housing officials.
“We housed someone from Limerick Prison who was released some years back and now there’s been reports of him taking photographs of a neighbour sitting on the toilet,” he said. “We need to be swift in dealing with this type of anti-social behaviour.”
Cathaoirleach of the New Ross Municipal District, Cllr John Dwyer. © Mary Browne
While Cllr Dwyer commended staff for their actions in dealing with another anti-social behaviour case in New Ross, he advised them to take further, stronger, measures to quell the resident in question.
“I did get a positive response in relation to a case which has been going for 20 years, and a cease and desist letter was sent. However, that letter is effectively being ignored,” he said.
“The recipient is continuing to cause great hardship to their neighbours, we need to be moving quickly in terms of our next steps.”
Last month, significant breaches of tenancy at the Ard na Bhile estate in New Ross had been alleged, including a man throwing empty bottles of whiskey out of his apartment’s window, has led one councillor to question the actions of the local authority’s housing allocation unit.
Cllr Dwyer also claimed the man, who is of African descent and still living in the Ard na Bhile estate, has been accused of “inviting children into his car”.
Questioning the actions of Wexford County Council’s (WCC) housing allocation unit Cllr Dwyer, the cathaoirleach of the New Ross Municipal District (NRMD), said some tenants were being given houses without sufficient garda clearance.
“There have been significant breaches of tenancy at that estate,” he said at the May meeting of the NRMD. “There’s been a Nigerian man inviting children into his car. And there was a separate individual who was driven out by the residents for online grooming incidents which occurred over a 15-year period. I fail to understand how these people were allocated houses.”
Defending the council’s allocation policies, housing officer Martina Donoghue insisted that every applicant was “sent for garda clearance” before being allocated a property.
Cllr Dwyer contested this statement.
“The gardaí can not give clearance for someone from Nigeria who arrived in Ireland two years ago. They can’t give a five-year garda clearance in that situation. This guy was drinking whiskey and throwing the bottles out of his top-floor apartment.”