Illegal caravans blighting estates that ‘already have huge problems’

THE city is set for another summer of illegal encampments unless swift action is taken to deter them, a local councillor has warned.

Cllr Terry O’Flaherty (Ind) said Galway was in for a repeat of previous years – when Galway City Council had to fork out anything up to €100,000 per annum in legal fees to have caravans shifted.

This comes as eight caravans have illegally parked in a Ballybane housing estate over the past two weeks – four of which are on a green area in the centre of the estate.

Cllr O’Flaherty said there were four in the estate coming into the Easter weekend, but this number had doubled by Tuesday – with another caravan illegally parked in Coillte Mhuirlinne.

“In relation to Fána Glas, there are three of them parked in an area that’s supposed to be for local people to park their cars; four are up on the small green area where children play; and another one a short distance away on the roadway to the Traveller group housing in Fána Glas,” said the east side councillor.

“Now the Council will have to go through the whole rigmarole of issuing them with legal letters and if that doesn’t work, they may have to bring them before the courts – and that could take ages.

“I am hoping, however, that they will leave when they are asked to do so,” added Cllr O’Flaherty.

She said allowing illegal encampments to get a foothold would only make matters worse in an estate where there are already huge problems – and suggested the solution may lie in bringing security guards in to prevent them setting up.

“Maybe we need to get security to stop the caravans going in there. The time that the caravans pulled into City Hall, security guards were employed to go in.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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