LABOUR REPS SECURE MULTI-AGENCY RESPONSE TO TACKLE LOCAL COMMUNITY ISSUES
17 December 2018
Senator Ged Nash and Cllrs Pio Smith and Paul Bell have secured a commitment from Louth County Council to lead an initiative to bring state agencies together to tackle serious social and economic issues in parts of Drogheda.
Following a meeting with senior Louth County Council officials last week, Senator Ged Nash said;
“The serious ongoing criminal feud in Drogheda will end and those responsible will be brought to justice.
“We should all be concerned at the involvement of many young who have been pulled in to this vicious cycle. There are alternatives to a life involved in crime.
“We have a responsibility to the decent and law abiding people in communities who are in the eye of this storm to give hope that a better future can be looked forward to.
“My short term priority will be investment from government in the building of a new community hub for the Moneymore area and the provision of targeted training and sustainable work opportunities for young people.
Cllr. Pio Smith explained;
“I am very pleased that Louth County Council has acceded to our request to lead this kind of intervention.
“The first meeting of a steering group including local commodity leaders, agencies such as An Garda Siochana, HSE, Tusla, education services such as local schools and the LMETB and existing services such as Connect and the Cable project and addiction services will take place in the new year, led by Louth County Council.
“At our meeting last Friday, the Council agreed to urgently bring forward with the Gardai new CCTV systems for the Moneymore area. This will be a priority for early next year and will provide greater security and reassurance for local people.
“In addition, I am pleased that Louth County Council has agreed to work with the Gardai to look at ways to address the gap between Moneymore and Castlemanor with a view to addressing the anti-social behaviour at this location.”
Cllr Paul Bell said;
“The problems experienced and concentrated in communities in the south and north side of Drogheda are complex.
“This initiative is about proper estate management and community building for the future.
“Thanks to our initiative Louth County Council and local agencies have shown an appetite to co-ordinate responsibility to deal with the multi-faceted problems.
“There is a responsibility now on government to provide the necessary resources to fund the plans that will emerge from this new process.”
Ends.