Anti-social behaviour could close Mass path in Limerick town

THE OPENING of a gate linking a popular shortcut to one Limerick town centre is leading to anti-social behaviour at night, according to some elected representatives.

The Mass Path Steps in Newcastle West, famously paced by the great Limerick poet Michael Hartnett, have been the site of recent anti-social activity, stated Cllr Tom Ruddle.

The Fine Gael man tabled a motion at a recent sitting of the Newcastle West Municipal District, asking the local authority to reconsider locking the gate at night and reopening in the mornings.

Local authority staff informed Cllr Ruddle that gardaí said they found no evidence of anti-social activity at the Mass Path Steps after hours, at the latest Joint Policing Committee (JPC) meeting.

“That’s because it’s a waste of time ringing the garda station,” Cllr Ruddle responded.

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Cllr Jerome Scanlan pointed to the lack of access to gardaí after hours in Newcastle West.

He stressed that there is difficulty dealing with incidents.

“When we ring after 5pm, we either get Henry Street garda station or else nobody answers at all.

“I think it is correct to close it at night,” the Independent councillor stated, seconding the motion.

Senior Executive Engineer with Limerick City and County Council, John Sheehan explained that the electronic mechanism was removed from the gate, which is why it is being left open at night.

He added that since then, the council has asked gardaí to conduct foot patrols of the area.

Cllr Michael Collins described the motion as contentious, as elected representatives had previously liaised with residents that use the walkway as a shortcut, agreeing acceptable opening hours.

He stressed that the Mass Path Steps are a “dark spot” at night, and that an “unfortunate incident” did occur at the site, which links Maiden St and the 1951 built Assumpta Park housing estate.

Collective calls were made by councillors to introduce a system whereby the gate could be closed manually at night, to put an end to anti-social activity noted by Cllr Ruddle.

Executive Engineer Mr Sheehan outlined that there would be a huge cost involved in organising someone to manually close the gate, out of hours.

He also added that reinstating the automatic mechanism is not an option, as it is a fixed time, and that there would be nobody patrolling the gate when opening and closing if someone got caught.

“A call to the superintendent would help,” Cllr Collins concluded, after an agreement was reached that the issue would be kept on the agenda for next month's meeting.