Moyross Voice December 09 Moyross Residents Anger Centre Pages

By Leo Stiles Regeneration

A MOYROSS community leader last week hit out at the Regeneration Agencies and said that the entire process of regeneration has stalled and failed the people of the area.
Chairman of the Moyross Residents Alliance Tom Daly who claims to represent 300 families living in the area hit out at the regeneration agencies for not delivering what had been promised in the Fitzgerald Report and the Master Plans.
“All that is happening now is you have people down in regeneration holding their jobs and hoping something will happen in the economy and it’s not going to happen because the country is in dire straits at the moment and it’s only going to get worse this year.”
Mr Daly also expressed disappointment with the level of policing in the area and highlighted the murder of Darren Bennett in March of this year, the recurring instances of cars being burnt out and a recent incident in Delmege Park where the home of Marie Troy was broken into and set on fire.
“There are no Gardai out here, you never see them .The 100 Gardai that were promised to us never materialised, he said.
“Policing is gone and we are just trying to cope, they just haven’t the man power, they can’t afford it now with the cutbacks,” he added
Brendan Kenny CEO of the Regeneration Agencies disagreed with this assessment and said the 100 extra Gardai were delivered, but to the city and not just toMoyross. Mr Kenny also pointed to recent statistics that show that gun crime has fallen 66 per cent and ordinary crime has fallen 15 per cent in Limerick.
“The Gardai have been getting a lot of success with big criminals being put away. The good thing about the Gardai in Limerick is that they do get the results,” he said.
But Mr Kenny expressed sympathy with the residents who are still contending with high levels of anti-social behaviour
Mr Daly’s comments were dismissed by Tracy McElligot, a Development Worker with the Moyross Residents Forum who rejects Mr Daly’s position that Regeneration has failed the people of Moyross.
“We are open to and fully support the ongoing regeneration process. Regeneration is ongoing in the community and is contributing particularly in the area of social regeneration and community projects, she said.
Demolition is continuing with the consent of the residents along with the upgrading of street lighting and the visual aspect of the area and the construction of sheltered housing will hopefully begin next year, “She added.
“The major problem that we had when we came down wasn’t major crime or the shootings which the people had become used to, but what was bothering people more than anything else was the public order issues, children causing problems, children threatening people, children threatening older people and threatening to kill them. It’s very hard for the Gardai to do anything about that”.
Mr Daly is particularly critical of the level of information and communication residents have with the regeneration agencies, something he feels deteriorated with the departure of Paul Foley, the former Northside Director.
Mr Kenny agrees that the last 6 months have been tough for northside regeneration but that people should not lose sight of what is being achieved in the area of social initiative which have seen good levels of funding over the past two years
“We are stuck with all kinds of issues, competing agendas and demands, but our job is to improve the area and in 10 years normal society and normal community can apply,” he said.