Time for “zero-tolerance” in Kilkenny city centre

Kilkenny City Gardaí must crack down on ongoing anti-social behaviour on St Kieran’s Street according to City Councillor Eugene McGuinness.

He was reacting to his own dealings with business owners in the area along with reporting by KCLR in which we’ve heard from traders who are witnessing increasing levels of theft, intimidation and what’s been described as professional begging.

While Cllr McGuinness is looking forward to the completion of the refurbishment works on Kieran’s Street, he is calling for action against those upsetting traders and shoppers alike in the city centre.

Meanwhile, Anne Ryan, who trades on High Street, told KCLR that anti-social behaviour has been a problem in the city centre for several years.

She feels that the redeployment of community Gardaí in the city centre would go a long way to making traders and women in particular, feel safer.

Following our interview with Kieran’s Street newsagent with Paula Grant on The KCLR Daily: Kilkenny retailer urges Garda presence to tackle Kieran Street issues , KCLR News spoke to Abbas Ghadimi of the Food for Life store and Catherine O’Dwyer of Lux Boutique, who is based at the junction with the Butter Slip

KCLR News understands that a long-standing business on the street suffered a theft last week, reportedly committed by a group which loiters on the street on a regular basis.

In recent days, diners at a restaurant on the street had an uncomfortable experience when a man who appeared to be drunk, entered the premises looking for alcohol before being escorted out of the restaurant by the owner.

On this morning’s KCLR Daily, Brian Redmond spoke to Cllr McGuinness and Anne Ryan and we also heard directly from Abbas and Catherine on St Kieran’s Street.

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