Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

Yes, and I congratulate the Deputy on its introduction. However, earlier this year my Department, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs initiated a pilot project, the GRO initiative, aimed specifically at combating graffiti in Dublin city, Galway city and Bray, County Wicklow. The project is separate from, and in addition to, the graffiti abatement programmes run on an ongoing basis by the local authorities.

The GRO initiative involves an initial major clean-up of the worst-affected sites in the pilot areas followed by a rapid response cleaning maintenance programme aimed at keeping sites free of graffiti. Following a tendering process completed in July, a total of seven contractors were engaged to carry out the initial clean-up operation, which commenced in August. Those contractors will also be responsible for the ongoing cleaning maintenance programme.

To date all sites in RAPID areas have been addressed and significant cleaning works have been completed. Work has been completed or is in progress in 19 separate locations as follows. In the Dublin City Council area, they are Ballymun; Finglas; the north-east inner city, East Wall area; the north-west inner city, the area bordered by Parnell Square, Parnell Street, the Four Courts and Kings Inns; on the north side, Coolock and Darndale; in the south-east inner city, the area bordered by the Quays, Westmoreland Street, Pearse Street, Westland Row and Macken Street; in the south-west inner city, the Dolphin's Barn area; in the south inner city, the area bordered by St. James's Hospital, Dolphins Barn, Marrowbone Lane, Thomas Street and James's Street; and Ballyfermot. In the Bray Town Council area, they are Hazelwood-Dargle Heights; Kilbride Grove; Ballywaltrim Heights; Oldcourt; and Ashfield Ballymorris. In the Galway City Council area they are Westside; Ballinfoile; Bohermore; New Mervue; and Ballybane.

Sites affected by graffiti outside RAPID areas are currently being surveyed with a view to extending the GRO initiative to them in coming weeks. We were initially going to confine the initiative to RAPID areas, but afterwards we decided that it would be a major policy mistake since the graffiti artists would simply find out where the RAPID area was and move elsewhere with a sense of impunity. We decided to go to RAPID areas first since the greatest concentration of graffiti vandalism has been there, after which we would go to other areas.

The pilot project is overseen by a steering group comprising representatives from the three Departments, and an independent evaluation of the programme has been commissioned to determine its effectiveness. Should the programme prove successful, consideration will be given to extending it to other areas and to other methods of assisting local authorities to make a real and determined effort to have rapid reaction units deal with graffiti vandalism.

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