Rural areas hit as Limerick gang members relocated

TOWNS and villages throughout the mid-west are being thrown into lawlessness by “neighbours from hell”.

And many of the troublesome residents have been relocated from Limerick, with the aid of subsidised rents, to neighbouring counties.

The claims were made yesterday as a investigations continue into a serious attack on Monday, in Emly, Co Tipperary, involving Limerick gang members.

During the incident, one man was shot and wounded while another was stabbed. The injuries were sustained after a number of men drove to Emly from St Mary’s Park in Limerick city to attack fellow members of the Keane Collopy gang.

The newly appointed chairman of the County Limerick Joint Policing Committee Cllr Kevin Sheahan said rural areas are being hit by serious anti-social behaviour problems.

“Politicians are getting complaints from every town and village, from places you would never expect to have these problems. All it takes is one bad apple family to come into a small area and cause widespread problems.”

Mr Sheahan said many of the troublesome families thrown out of council-owned estates were now in private rented houses, assisted by generous rent allowance payments from the Health Service Executive.

“Property owners have mortgages to pay on their investment properties and with the property slump, there is a certain amount of panic in the market place.

“Absentee landlords who live elsewhere are not displaying a willingness to police the behaviour of tenant sufficiently and there is an obligation on them to do so for the other residents in the area.”

Limerick West TD Niall Collins, meanwhile, said while a local authority has the power to move and evict troublesome tenants, private landlords do not have the same power. “There appears to be an anomaly in the law with the regard to moving troublesome tenants for antisocial behaviour. While there should be an onus on a landlord to get rid of tenants involved in anti social behaviour, it would seem this is easier said than done. It is a big problem and a concern to most communities.”