Donegal County Council has been asked to explore the installation of cameras to stamp out a spate of graffiti incidents in Letterkenny.
‘One Love’ and ‘Jesus Loves You’ slogans, among other phrases, have been sprayed on walls and public signage across the town in recent weeks.
The issue has been referred to gardaí. Until the culprits are stopped, it is causing a major headache and expense for the council and local Tidy Towns volunteers.
Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh says the message needs to get out the graffiti is criminal damage and is an offence.
He cited many areas including the Hugh Duffy Car Park, Gortlee, the St. Eunan’s Car Park bus stop, Sentry Hill and Newline Road as areas that have been targetted recently.
“It’s also on the back of a number of road signs which could potentially be a distraction for motorists,” Cllr Kavanagh told today’s meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District.
“Graffiti also makes people wary of an area, creating the feeling that it looks neglected or unsafe,” he added.
Grafitti in a car park off Justice Walsh Road, Letterkenny
Cllr Kavanagh suggested that the affected areas be monitored to stop repeated vandalism, reporting incidents where graffiti has been cleaned up, but redone the following morning.
“Whoever is doing this is doing the town no favours, they need to see it is a serious matter and will be treated as a serious matter,” he said.
Cllr Michael McBride asked if the council would consider using covert cameras, such as those at bottle banks, to watch areas that are being targetted. He added his fear that murals in the Hugh Duffy Car Park would be destroyed if the problem continued.
A spokesperson for the council said: “Council Staff continue to remove graffiti from certain areas in Letterkenny. There is a particular focus with graffiti on road signage.
“Donegal County Council are also liaising with Community groups regarding the removal of Graffiti from private property. The Gardai are being consulted regarding the prevention of the reoccurrence of the graffiti.”