Limerick council faces 'staggering' bill to remove graffiti from railway bridge

IT WILL cost €40,000 to remove graffiti from the railway bridge on the Childers' Road in the city, according to Fine Gael’s Cllr Sarah Kiely who has described graffiti as a “serious blight in our city and towns”.

Now the City East councillor wants the council to improve their response time to removing graffiti and adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to the problem and to improve their response time.

Speaking at a full meeting of Limerick City and Council, Cllr Kiely was unhappy to be told that a list of graffiti sites was being compiled and would be dealt with together.

“I have been given that response on a number of occasions,” she said.

The graffiti on the railway bridge on Childers' Road was being done “from the line down”, she said and she had been told that contractors were to be appointed soon to remove it.

“This bridge belongs to Irish Rail,” she pointed out. She had contacted Irish Rail on the issue, she told her fellow councillors, but “never got a response in two years”.

“It is not okay for council funds to be used on Irish Rail property,” she said and she asked that the council executive contact Irish Rail on the matter.

In 1983, an agreement between Irish Rail and the then city council gave the council responsibility for the bridge, Cllr Kiely explained. But she now wants that agreement to be scrapped. “Irish Rail need to stop shirking their responsibility and step up,” she said.

Supporting Cllr Kiely, Cllr Dan McSweeney said the council needed to have people on the ground. “Putting it out for tender can take weeks and months,” he pointed out.

Cllr Conor Sheehan commended the recent swift taking down of offensive graffiti in the Island Field. It happened within an hour, he said. “That is the kind of response we need,” he said.

He was “blue in the face” from contacting Irish Rail about the railway bridge at Park, he added. “It is like playing handball against a haystack.” Tweets, emails, phone-calls were all ignored, he said.

“It is not goo enough for the council to fund the bill for something that is not our responsibility.”