Residents in Tallaght have been left “very worried” after a fire linked to anti-social behaviour caused significant damage to a garden wall at a home in the area.
The incident took place at Millbrook Lawns, where a blaze was started on an unused green space located directly beside a number of houses. The fire resulted in a back garden wall being “completely damaged”, raising fresh concerns among locals about safety and ongoing issues in the area.
Highlighting what he described as a persistent problem, Fianna Fáil councillor Adam Smyth said the incident is part of a wider pattern involving fires and illegal dumping in the same location. Speaking at a meeting of South Dublin County Council (SDCC), he urged officials to take action to prevent further incidents.
“There’s been two fires in the same spot over the last year – one late summer last year and one two to three weeks ago,” he said.
“A couple of people have been on to me about illegal dumping in the area, and now someone has set a fire there which has completely damaged someone’s wall.”
According to Cllr Smyth, the green space has effectively become a hidden dumping ground, with limited visibility from surrounding roads, making it difficult to monitor and prone to misuse.
“The green space is surrounded by dumping grounds – it’s a hidden area that you can’t really see from any of the roads. Solving the illegal dumping is very important, but it’s more important to do something with the green space.”
He said there is a growing sense of unease among residents living nearby, particularly given how close the incident occurred to family homes.
“There is a real concern among the locals – it’s very worrying for this particular household that it happened right at the back of their garden wall,” he said.
In an effort to address the issue, Cllr Smyth has proposed that the land be redeveloped into a community facility, such as a playground or football pitch, arguing that increased activity would help deter anti-social behaviour.
“People are worried because it’s at the back of loads of houses and alongside trees, it’s not really visible from any roads. If we replace it with a playground or football field, it’d bring more people to the green space and give it visual security.”
The councillor also pointed to a broader rise in anti-social behaviour across Tallaght, noting recent incidents involving damage to public transport. At a previous meeting, the Tallaght Transport Forum reported that four buses were damaged within a two-hour period, with stone-throwing among the issues highlighted.
“Fires can be a problem closer to Halloween, it’s not as much of a problem on its own but anti-social behaviour has definitely gone up,” he said.
“Not too far from the green space, we had issues in one of the parks with fires being lit and scramblers. This spot is quite close to other problem areas.”
With the summer months approaching, he stressed the need for preventative action to protect families and nearby homes.
“It’s more important to prevent it from happening, that’s what the families want. We’re coming to the summer months, kids are going to be out and about – we need to prevent this from happening again.”
In response, a manager from South Dublin County Council said the situation is being monitored, with increased litter warden patrols planned for the area. Enforcement action will be taken where evidence is found.
“Increased patrols of the litter warden will be scheduled for this area, and they will continue to investigate it. Where evidence is uncovered, enforcement action is initiated by SDCC,” they said.
However, the use of CCTV will only be considered if the problem persists, in line with national guidelines.
“In adherence to the Local Government Management Agency’s (LGMA) codes of practice for the use of CCTV for the prevention, detection and prosecution of litter and waste offences, the use of CCTV should be considered a last resort.”
