‘SILLY season’ has started again in Church Bay in Crosshaven according to a local councillor, who said the number of drunken teenagers in the area is an ‘accident waiting to happen’.
Cllr Audrey Buckley (FF) who lives in Church Bay, told The Southern Star, that once again there were hordes of drunk teenagers roaming the area last Friday and Saturday night, an already common sight despite the summer being months away.
‘They came down on the 220 bus and were drinking on it and made their way to Church Bay in the evening. Someone is going to fall off the cliffs and kill themselves unless something is done about it,’ said Cllr Buckley.
Cllr Buckley raised a motion at last month’s Council meeting calling for the county by-laws to be changed and the introduction of on-the-spot fines, similar to what Cork City Council has. She said her neighbour witnessed one young girl passed out on the road in the darkness, while Cllr Buckley herself saw hordes of teenagers walking and shouting on the road near her driveway. She said the beach was subsequently littered with cans and bottles as a result of parties.
‘Church Bay is out of the way and they can run if the gardaí come as there are loads of nooks and crannies. It’s only one 1km from Crosshaven once they get off the bus.’
Cllr Buckley said another issue is the lack of gardaí in the area and pointed out that she rang both Togher and Carrigaline garda stations at one stage and there was no answer.
‘I’m demanding that for four months of the year we should have community policing in Crosshaven – there’s a fine station here in the village. We want to see community gardaí walking about and making their presence felt and they should be some sort of policing on the 220 bus which is drawing them here to Crosshaven.’
Cllr Buckley said there is no accountability for the actions of these teenagers.
At a recent meeting of the local authority, councillors from various coastal areas voiced their concerns about anti-social behaviour in their areas and how they were ‘dreading’ the summer season ahead.
