New taskforce seeks to address unwelcome behaviour in Ballinasloe

The recent establishment of a locally-based Anti-Social Behaviour Taskforce for Ballinasloe should soon help in the fight to curb such behaviour in the town, according to local councillor and taskforce member Alan Harney.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this week, Cllr Harney said the local taskforce, a subgroup formed as part of Galway County Council's Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy 2025–2030 under the guidance of the Galway County Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP), was officially formed two weeks' ago, and that its first meeting should take place within two weeks.

Along with Cllr Harney, the local anti-social behaviour taskforce will consist of chairperson Cllr Peter Keaveney, Cllr Evelyn Parsons, and Cllr Dermot Connolly, along with Garda Inspector Declan Rock and the County Council's Senior Executive Officer Gerard Scully.

Cllr Harney said he initially raised the issue of forming a local anti-social behaviour taskforce early last year to tackle issues such as littering, property damage, and vandalism. It also aims to identify patterns and hotspots in anti-social behaviour in Ballinasloe, improve co-ordination between agencies, and develop short and medium-term actions that focus on prevention and early intervention.

Cllr Harney stressed the importance of telling people that the taskforce's formation is not a sign of “widespread anti-social problems” in Ballinasloe, but rather a mechanism to show that an organised and well co-ordinated response team is in place to prevent and/or help to cut-down the level of anti-social behaviour in “certain pockets of the town”.

One of the ways that this can be done, said Cllr Harney, is to implement a wider use of CCTV across the area.

“Unfortunately, we would've liked to have been in a position to get the taskforce underway and operational much sooner than this. However, we had to ensure that all the proper steps were taken in conjunction with the government and Galway County Council. We are delighted to have the taskforce formed and look forward to getting some really good work done for the community in the near future,” said Cllr Harney.

“The main idea is for any communities affected by anti-social behaviour, and for any would-be perpetrators, to know there is now a really organised response ready to counteract any such behaviours going forward."

Cllr Harney said while Ballinasloe is a fantastic part of the country to live in, that there are “certain pockets” where trouble has been occurring more often than expected or desired. He said the local Gardaí do a brilliant job in policing the area but that it's also important, going forward, that increased levels of policing are seen on the town's streets. Cllr Harney also said that when certain CCTV cameras were put in place in a local estate last year, they were vandalised within 24 hours and had to be replaced in the ensuing days. It is also important, he said, that Galway County Council's housing department deal swiftly and strictly with any repeat offenders living in Ballinasloe social housing estates.

“Every town has its issues with anti-social behaviour, there's no doubt about it and no magic solution, but the taskforce and its relevant stakeholders will be doing everything it can to make our streets, estates and communities safer and more comfortable places to live,” he said.