ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR TASKFORCE

By Lucy Carroll

Cllr. Alan Harney addressing Pupils in Clontuskert School recentl

Cllr. Alan Harney has called for the establishment of a taskforce to address antisocial behaviour in Ballinasloe.
Cllr. Harney stated: "Since my election to Galway County Council, I have been very aware of issues with antisocial behaviour in a number of areas across town."

"In my view, we need to take a harder stance against the perpetrators to make it clear that such actions will not be tolerated in our town. Everyone deserves the right to live peacefully and safely in their community."

"However, I have been contacted by many people in recent months for whom this is, sadly, just not the case at present. We need to take action and deliver real solutions for our community."

"A new taskforce would assist in putting together a coordinated response to such antisocial behaviour in our community, which, in my view, has been lacking to date. This should involve An Garda Síochána, officials from Galway County Council, representatives of the community, and public representatives."

"We also need to look at other options to make our communities safer. The rollout of community CCTV in our town centre is something I have been advocating for, and I believe it will assist the Gardaí in their work."

Cllr. Harney concluded: "By working together, we can deliver real change and an improved quality of life for people across our community. I look forward to engaging with my colleagues in Galway County Council and the Gardaí on this proposal."

Cllr. Alan Harney has recently been elected to serve on the Community, Irish Language, Gaeltacht, Tourism and Integration Strategic Policy Committee.

“I hope that I can add something to our policy over the next couple of years through my membership”, he states. With his focus on community development and hardworking involvement with a number of local not for profit groups prior to election, Cllr. Harney is very interested in the re-purposing of the old library.
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“At our first meeting we had a presentation from Liz Keane, the new county librarian. I raised some issues that we have here in Ballinasloe, particularly around opening of the new library to have it used by more groups. I also raised the issue of the old library, which has been closed for a number of years being used for book storage. However, this building is really quite unsuitable due to the condition of the structure itself. This space can be renovated and opened up because I think it has a huge potential to provide meeting space, and space for activities for groups in our community, so I’ll be working on that over the next couple of months.”, explained the Councillor.