Call for 'urgent reform' as tenants face 'horrendous' anti-social behaviour

Anti-social behaviour, open drug taking, and common areas being used as a toilet are just some the complaints Dublin councillors have outlined as a consistent, ongoing problems at northside Dublin apartment complexes

Add to preferred sources Comments News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 17:28, 23 Sep 2026 Updated 17:30, 23 Sep 2026 View Image Fine Gael Cllr Supriya Singh tabled a motion calling for a stricter response from Dublin City Council to address anti-social behaviour

Vulnerable residents are bearing the brunt of persistent anti-social behaviour across apartment blocks in northside Dublin .

In recent years, northside tenants have dealt with consequences of non-resident consistently accessing apartment blocks with councillors reporting drugs being openly injected in hallways, common areas used as a toilet , and people feeling trapped in their own homes. These issues served as the basis for a debate at Monday’s North Central Area Committee calling on Dublin City Council to take a more proactive approach toward addressing these concerns.

Fine Gael Councillor Supriya Singh highlighted ongoing anti-social behaviour raised by residents in Belmayne, Parkside and other communities. She said that policing alone cannot provide a complete solution and that DCC must investigate tenancies and ensure enforcement when necessary.

“It is not about stigmatising council tenants. The overwhelming majority of council tenants are responsible neighbours and members of their communities. This is about the small number of serious and persistent cases where behaviour can have a very significant impact on neighbours and on the wider community,” she stated.

“We rightly raise policing and Garda visibility when criminal or anti-social behaviour occurs. But where the behaviour is connected with a council tenancy, Dublin City Council also has responsibilities as a landlord.”

She further questioned the vetting process by which tenancies are allocated, especially when there is a known history of anti-social behaviour. Cllr Singh pointed out issues with the “existing legal framework” around terminating tenancies and the difficulties of “striking the right balance” of supporting tenants while also protecting neighbours who have the right to live peacefully.

Sinn Féin Cllr Mícheál Mac Donncha also tabled a motion calling for “urgent reform” of a housing property management system that is “not fit for purpose”. He highlighted instances of crime around multiple apartment blocks due to non-residents accessing buildings and an “inadequate response from management companies”.

He referenced visiting an apartment complex with over 90 apartments whose main entrance door was not functioning and allowed anyone to access the building, stating this was left in need of repair for over one week. He further called for reform around the vetting of tenants and there more robust collaboration if needed between local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) and an Garda Síochána.

The North Central Area has been the subject of more apartment developments than any other part of the city according to Cllr Mac Donncha, who said they are facing some of the most serious consequences of their impact. This is worsened by residents who feel they are being passed “from Billy to Jack” between management, AHBs, the council, and security companies.

He outlined a “horrendous situation” with “drug dealing, injecting in the stairways, and common areas used as a toilet”. “What’s in place legally at the moment is not sufficient and it’s not working, particularly for apartment blocks,” he said.

Both motions were unanimously supported with Social Democrats Cllr Karl Stanley speaking about the split responsibilities of all stakeholders involved. “The end result is a certain number of people who feel like prisoners in their own apartment complexes,” he said while calling for cross-collaboration in developing “a more holistic view of this”.

“Tenants are living in real fear. The quiet enjoyment of their homes is being destroyed because of a lack of action,” he said.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Deirdre Heney said that anti-social behaviour is a problem but that tenants bear some responsibility in ensuring security. She cited a situation where tenants must press a button to manually close a gate and that many are unknowingly leaving complexes open to non-residents.

She described the situation as “a problem coming down the tracks” and called for more to be done for AHBs to communicate with tenants around proper security practices. Cllr Heney also asked that the process of inviting AHBs to speak at their committee meetings be continued as it offers the opportunity for councillors to voice their concerns directly.

The actions of “a small group of individuals” unfortunately have the power to really disrupt communities, Independent Cllr John Lyons explained. He spoke about witnessing videos of DCC tenants “running amok" and said that they have a responsibility to protect vulnerable people living in the area.

“It only takes a handful of people to completely undermine the safety and security of an entire apartment block,” he said. Referring to a tenant who needed to get a barring order to resolve a situation, he said more needs to be done and that he is "embarrassed and ashamed” at the severity of some instances he has learned about.

Green Party Cllr Donna Cooney called for action at a situation that has gotten “completely out of hand” and previous policy measures put forward by the Housing SPC went a long way toward addressing these concerns in the past. She called for a “pro-active approach” to tackling the minority of people who are causing great damage in their area.

Council management outlined their Estate Management Strategy and policies around addressing anti-social behaviour. They said that when a complaint is received it is investigated "immediately" before it is decided what level of warning is warranted. Serious or drug related complaints are escalated to the Central Estate Management Unit (CEMU) and interviews are arranged with tenants.

“Actions can vary depending on the severity of the anti-social behaviour, with proceedings for exclusion orders, tenancy warnings and possession orders being lodged with the law department where necessary,” the council stated.

The manager also detailed the establishment of an Anti-Social Behaviour Policy and Strategy Working Group, which is in the process of preparing new policy measures. They said that measures are in place to protect vulnerable tenants and that there is strong support and funding available for this.

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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