IT HAS been alleged that scores of known criminals are relocating to Gorey from Dublin and that landlords are facilitating this by failing to vet their tenants properly.
The claims were made during last week’s meeting of the Joint Policing Committee by community activist Declan Dunbar, Riverchapel.
“We are literally a dumping ground for ex-convicts,” Mr Dunbar said.
He added that the problem was particularly evident in Courtown and Riverchapel because, “landlords don’t give a damn who their tenants are.”
Mr Dunbar said: “One landlord every week, his tenants are committing crimes.”
Pressing the issue he posed the question to the top table, “is there a law that sets standards for landlords?”
Chief Superintendent John Roche noted his agreement with Mr Dunbar, describing the issue as “one of the most serious issues affecting the county.”
Mr Dunbar stated that he had evidence that Dublin Council were re-locating people who have been released from prison to Gorey, but could not produce this evidence.
Senator Michael Darcy suggested that the local authority had a role to play in curbing the trend by carrying out “more stringent analysis” before stamping application forms for rent allowance for those making a claim for the payment through the Department of Social Protection.
He indicated that it had previously been the case that anyone who presented at the County Council would have their form would automatically stamped. The senator queried was this still the case.
Fianna Fail county councillor took issue with this suggestion. “We do vet our tenants. This is more of a legislative matter. I just feel that Senator Darcy should take this up in a different forum,” he said.
Chief Executive of Wexford County Council Tom Enright also engaged in the discussion and said: “Where the council owns housing units and puts people in to them we carry out stringent checks. The difficulty is in the private rental sector.”
He continued: “The PRTB are supposed to regulate the market and landlords must supply the names of their tenants and where possible a PPS number.”
Labour party county councillor George Lawlor noted that in situations where there is a problem with anti-social behaviour in a residential area the public have a “far better opportunity of dealing with a problem if it is owned by the council. The problem is that these tenants in the private rental market are faceless. I feel personally that the PRTB is a quango that I wouldn’t mind seeing go. I think it’s very much a toothless organisation.”