A spate of anti-social behaviour led to the closure of the playground in Cashel over the weekend.
Independent local election candidate Liam Browne says CCTV is now an absolute necessity to combat the ongoing problem.
He says the amenity had to be closed for cleaning and disinfection after a particularly serious incident on Saturday when it was discovered someone had defecated in the playground.
Liam Browne says this was the culmination of a number of incidents of anti-social behaviour which have put parents off letting their children use the facility.
“There was a significant amount of money spent on that playground in the past couple of years – we’re talking a couple of hundred thousand Euro. That was money that was raised within the local community by the local community. But people are just not going there anymore in the numbers they were and the ones that are do feel a bit intimidated when they go up there – they don’t like the experience that they’re getting. We can’t have any public facility that’s no being used by people simply because they don’t feel safe using it.”
Liam Browne says every means possible must be used to tackle the anti-social behaviour at the community playground
“I believe that CCTV cameras not need to be placed at the playground. We have to let the people who are causing the disturbances know that they’re being watched and if they’re seen to be doing anything up there that there will be consequences for them.
“We’ve got to be more vigilant ourselves to approach people and say them look it’s not for you its for the young kids. It’s a wonderful facility that we don’t want to see closed. Some of the behaviour is criminal behaviour and it should be dealt with through the criminal justice system.”
