On last Wednesday evening, a community meeting was held in Ballinlough Community Centre in association with Ballinlough Community Association to address the extent of anti-social behaviour in Ballinlough Parish. The Gardai from Blackrock Garda station and Douglas were in attendance. It was great to see such a turnout for a community meeting. It really does indicate the continued interest in community life by Ballinlough people. The Gardai took notes of the concerns of local residents. Subsequently, it was also decided to establish a Community Safety Forum, which will meet quarterly to address the fears of the local community with regard to ant-social behaviour.

From my point of view, I welcome this as did my other councillor colleagues in the ward. I have chosen to respond to the concerns two-fold;

Firstly to develop a drink and drugs awareness programme for our local secondary school. This will be rolled out in the new year with the assistance of Philip McCarthy, a film maker,who will conduct workshops in the local schools.

Secondly, I will be actively pursuing the cleaning up of the environs of Douglas Pool. To begin with, I have put in a motion to Council calling for creation of a community mural for the walls of Douglas Pool (more to come on this and other activities)