Councillors at a recent meeting said they still have concerns about how well the council is protecting tenants from neighbours engaged in serious intimidation and drug dealing.
Dublin City Council launched a new warnings system for handling anti-social behaviour in its housing complexes in 2021.
It has issued 68 statutory warnings since, said a council official recently.
And these warnings can often be enough to change an individual’s behaviour, say councillors and council officials.
“We were sceptical, to be honest, if this would work or not,” said Michael Clarke, head of the council’s anti-social behaviour unit. “But it does seem to be working.”
If a tenant continues to engage in anti-social behaviour after the warning, the council can move towards an eviction, said Clarke, at a meeting of the council’s housing committee on 15 December.
In 2023, the council carried out eight evictions – two for anti-social behaviour, one for illegal occupation, and five for rent arrears.
While the tenancy warning is in place, the council can also refuse the tenant permission to transfer to another home, or for other family members to move into the home.
Councillors at the meeting welcomed the tenancy warning system but also flagged concerns about ongoing serious anti-social behaviour and drug dealing in some council estates and complexes.
“For many of the tenants who are exemplary, their lives are miserable,” said independent Councillor Mannix Flynn, calling on the council to hire private security firms to gather evidence of anti-social behaviour in complexes where issues are particularly acute.
In the council’s estate management strategy 2022 to 2027, the council set out to achieve a scenario where all residents would have peaceful occupation of their homes, said Clarke.
There are issues with drug dealing and criminality in some council estates, he said, and the council liaises closely with An Garda Síochána.
“A number of areas have suffered from serious criminality in recent years, open drug dealing and criminal networks, in ‘hotspots’ or specific areas within communities,” says a presentation to councillors on the housing committee.
“A very small percentage of people are engaged in criminal networks and criminality but [this has a] disproportionate impact on community,” it says.
In 2012, the Supreme Court found that a Dublin City Council eviction wasn’t compatible with EU human rights law, mainly because the council didn’t have any independent review system.
Clarke said at the meeting that before legislative changes in 2014, the council could evict a tenant based on a belief that anti-social behaviour was taking place. Since the changes, it has to provide proof.
“When the legislation changed … our hands were tied,” said Clarke. “We now have to put witnesses into the box and we are open to cross-examination.”
That meant that some residents were reluctant to report anti-social behaviour in case they were called as witnesses in court, he said. However, the council does protect the anonymity of those who report issues in confidence, said Clarke.
To evict someone, the council has to show that it took steps to give the tenant a chance to stop or not repeat specific actions, says the presentation.
Under the new system, it does that by starting with a verbal warning, then giving a written warning, and a final warning.
If the behaviour continues, the council can issue a statutory warning known as a “tenancy warning”.
If the actions persist after that the council can apply to the courts for an excluding order or a possessing order. To get those orders, it has to prove its case in court.
The excluding order means that one member of the household is evicted from the home, while the possessing order is an eviction of the entire household.
Often council officials know who is engaging in anti-social behaviour but to win a case they need evidence, said Clarke. “The problem that we have is the proof.”
The new anti-social behaviour policy was refined following consultation with 60 council staff members who are dealing with problems on the ground. “We got some very good ideas from them,” he said.
Council staff are building up their confidence in using the new tenancy warning system, said Clarke. Upcoming legal cases will assist them further, he said.
Personal use of drugs is not anti-social behaviour as defined in the legislation, said Clarke, but drug dealing is.
Trying to tackle drug dealing is particularly challenging for the council though, said Clarke.
A spokesperson for Dublin City Council said that the council can request a report from the Gardaí about an individual. “These reports form part of our investigation and can assist us in determining whether an individual has engaged in anti-social behaviour as defined.”
When, in early 2021, councillors were considering changes in the anti-social behaviour strategy, one possibility was that the council would consult “recognised local community groups” before allocating a home in an area.
Implementing that wasn’t possible, said Clarke at the December meeting of the housing committee. The council can’t legally refuse anybody an allocation based on rumours, he said.
Councillors said that major criminal activity and drug dealing are ongoing issues in some council estates. “Unfortunately for those tenants that are suffering at the hands of that activity, they don’t see progress,” said Right to Change Councillor Pat Dunne.
“When did drug dealing become normalised, open and tolerated?” said Sinn Féin Councillor Máire Devine. Some drug dealers are intimidating their neighbours, she said.
Gardaí need to clamp down on drug dealing, said independent Councillor Cieran Perry. “We have people in our properties selling drugs and we shouldn’t.”
“It is a battle, let’s be honest,” said Clarke. “These people are making vast amounts of money and they will use any resources they have and if that resource is a child that is what they will use.”
Tony Smithers, a senior executive officer with Dublin City Council, said the council has CCTV in many of its complexes.
“If there are certain spots that the activity is constantly there, and it is impacting on people and community, then we need to deal with that with all the key stakeholders,” said Smithers.
Labour Councillor Alison Gilliland, who chairs the council’s housing committee, asked how many council complexes are covered by working CCTV.
Smithers said he didn’t know how many cameras there are across the city but that there are 360 functioning cameras across housing complexes in Dublin 8.
If a crime is reported, Gardaí can make an application for the tape and review it, he said, otherwise, the footage isn’t watched.
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