Lakeside antisocial behaviour getting worse

The hot weather spell might be gone and while we may live in hope of it coming back, many live in fear of the trouble that will inevitably follow.

Residents of the popular lakeside village of Dromineer said they were plagued last month by hordes of young people engaging in antisocial behaviour. This included littering, playing loud music and a particularly concerning problem of intimidating boat users in the harbour area.

Residents told of as many as 200 youths congregating on the pontoon last Tuesday and Wednesday week. Aged from as young as 12 to their late teens, they were jumping into the water and onto cruise boats that had moored there. Boat users were subjected to verbal abuse and felt they had to leave the area. New arrivals did not dock for the same reason, or because people were swimming in the berthing areas.

“There are boaters not coming to the village because of that, because they are being intimidated,” said Rita Ryan of The Whiskey Still. She and her husband Joe have run the local bar and restaurant for more than 20 years. They find that while the problems caused by good weather are not new, they are getting worse.

MEETING CALLED

A meeting has been called in July between local residents, the gardaí and representatives of Waterways Ireland and Tipperary Co Council to discuss the antisocial behaviour, which Ms Ryan pointed out is not unique to Dromineer.

"Dromineer is a beautiful place to live and it is only for a short period that there are problems,” she said.

“It’s a small minority of people, but they manage to cause so much bother that it turns people off.”

Local resident Paul Stevens spoke of “gangs of youths running up and down the jetties,” jumping on boats and swimming in the harbour.

“This represents a massive health and safety risk with boats moving in and out of the harbour,” he said. “Boat propellers are lethal and could maim so easily. The tourist traffic in the harbour is down significantly and this effects local business.”

Another local resident, Helen Moylan, told of the abuse a member of Waterways Ireland was subjected to when he confronted a large group of youths that had climbed onto one vessel in the harbour. She mentioned that in the previous spell of hot weather last May, Waterways Ireland had to replace three lifebuoys and repair another three because people had either damaged them or taken them altogether.

“It’s terrible to say but we nearly wish that we don’t get it,” she said of the good weather that seems to attract such behaviour. “We were all young. But I don’t know what the teenagers of today are like; they just have no respect for anything.”

PARENTAL RESPONSBILITY

She and Rita Ryan spoke of parents either dropping their children off in Dromineer or letting them go in the bus. “They’re here for hours, there’s no supervision whatsoever, and when youngsters get together there’s a bit of bravado,” Ms Ryan pointed out. “Parents don’t seem to be making their children aware of how dangerous it is.”

Ms Moylan was of a similar view. “A harbour is for boats. It’s not for swimming,” she said, making the point that apart from the danger of moving craft, the water has been made dirty there by the cruisers.

“We need parents to be aware that the harbour is not safe for swimming.”

“It has to start at home and parents have to know where their youngsters are and what they’re doing,” said Ms Ryan, who is also a member of the local development committee. They both praised the work of the council-employed village caretaker and felt sorry for the amount of cleaning up he had to do in the mornings-after last week.

JET-SKIS

Rita Ryan said the problem of jet-skis being driven at speed in or near the harbour is persisting despite numerous attempts over the years to restrict their use. “There’s loads of room in the lake - I don’t know why they have to show off their skills here near the harbour,” she exclaimed.

But she said the issue of antisocial behaviour requires a garda response and, while she appreciated that garda resources are limited, Ms Ryan called for a stronger presence during the times problems occur at. The problems are impacting on locals and visitors alike, and Ms Ryan made the point that such behaviour is not tolerated in the countries that many of the overseas visitors comes from.

“We’re kind of shrugging our shoulders and accepting it,” she said. “That’s the most upsetting part of it. I don’t think that’s good enough. I think we have to stand up and we have to say ‘No’… we have to start calling it out. It can’t continue.”

SWIMMING PLATFORM

Mr Stevens, a chartered accountant acting on behalf of the Dromineer Residents Association, said a meeting was held last week in which the idea of a dedicated swimming platform was proposed as a solution to the problem in the harbour. A platform similar to that at Two-Mile-Gate on the Clare side of the lake is now sought for Dromineer.

“It would provide an instant solution to our problem and rightfully restore the harbour to tourists,” said Mr Stevans, who has written to Tipperary Co Council about the proposal. He said the site previously occupied by the Splash World aqua park attraction would be the obvious location for such an addition.

Mr Stevens said the Dromineer Residents Association is prepared to raise funds towards the cost of the platform and he hoped the council could help.