Cllr Cathleen Carney Boud has condemned on going racist attacks and intimidation taking place against a group of young people from India who are living in Willow Park Estate Dublin.

“A gang of teenagers has been targeting this group of young people who work and study in Dublin. The local residents are appalled and contacted me.

I raised my concerns with the Gardai and asked if one community Garda could be assigned as a liaison for ease of communication.This was initiated, but when one of the girls was attacked the other night no guards showed up. The attacks have escalated from attacking the house to now attacking a person.

I am shocked that such attacks are taking place in this constituency and I am urging the Gardaí to step up and provide the necessary protection to these young people. I was surprised to learn that there is no Garda protocol in place when dealing with racist attacks which are quite different to ‘normal’ anti-social behaviour.

Such procedures should include extra monitoring, identifying suspects and informing schools and community groups in the area, which would enable the schools to then put in place an anti – racism programme to highlight the issue. This would help prevent the escalation of violence that we are now seeing. They are lovely, quiet and hardworking people, it is just awful that they are being targeted in this way. I hope that the community stands together to send out a clear message that racism is wrong and will not be tolerated by the people of this area.”

Sinn Féin Dublin City Councillor, Cathleen Carney Boud, has made representations on behalf of the residents of Willow Park and Pinewood Estates, Dublin 11, regarding excessive use of the estates by Driving Schools and Test Centres. The Councillor has called on the Office of Public Works to consider the use of a compound site to alleviate pressure on estates.

Cllr Carney Boud said:

Residents of Pinewood Estate & Willow Park Estate (Dublin 11) in particular have raised concerns that the use of their estates as part of the driving test routes has been ongoing for the last 20 years and the numbers of learner drivers practising and being tested there have increased to the point where it is now a constant nuisance to the residents, particularly the elderly.

The estates are being used for motorbike, car and tow-truck learners. Residents’ cars have been damaged, vehicles are mounting paths and there have been occasions when learner drivers have been verbally abusive to frustrated residents.

The information provided by the RSA states that 68 registers ADIs are using these routes with an average of 12 driving tests taking place per day. I have suggested that a compound site be allocated by the office of public works which would certainly help to alleviate the problem and I call on the OPW to prioritise this request as a matter of urgency in the interest of safety.