At least two short video clips showing a group of men involved in a violent anti-social behaviour incident in Co Waterford have been shared online.
During the incident, which occurred last Monday night in Dungarvan, a man in his late teens was assaulted and brought to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
One of the clips lasts for about one minute, and shows a violet incident between two groups of four to six men in Dungarvan.
Labour Party Cllr Thomas Phelan said he understood gardai responded quickly to the row.
“It’s not too clear actually,” said Cllr Phelan. “You can kind of see a skirmish between two groups. One looks to be getting the upper hand. They have some implements like short planks in their hands.”
The fracas occurred in the front garden of a house in Cathal Brugha Place. “There’s some guy up on a wall at the house or a corner of a garden wall. And there is somebody egging him on from the street,” added Cllr Phelan.
He also called for greater communication between the gardaí and councillors adding that Monday night’s incident was not reflective of the normally peaceful atmosphere in Dungarvan.
“I probably would like to see more a garda presence on the streets, as being a visible deterrent,” he said. “But you wouldn’t expect gardaí to be walking through every housing estate, nor do they need to be.”
He said incidents like this nature are “few and far between, thankfully,” he stressed.
“It’s not a bit reflective of Dungarvan in town generally, which is a beautiful town. It’s not a troubled town by any stretch of the imagination,” said Cllr Phelan.
Last week, an anti-social behaviour policy was raised at a plenary meeting of Waterford City and Council. Councillor Phelan called for more regular meetings between councillors, the local Superintendent and Garda Sergeant in charge on an informal basis, so they could share news and information.
“We used to have Joint Policing Committees and now that has been replaced by a local community safety partnership, and only half the number of councillors can be on it. I think that’s taking us further out of the picture than we would like,” he said.
Security and intelligence gathering matters are the preserve of the gardaí but there may be times when local representatives might be able to share local knowledge they have gained on the ground, said Cllr Phelan.
While Dungarvan is not a high-crime area, “anybody would just feel reassured and safer if they saw more gardaí on the beat,” he added.
A garda spokesperson said they received a report of an assault that occurred at about 11pm on Monday, February 12, at Cathal Brugha Place in Dungarvan
An adult male, aged in his late teens, was brought to University Hospital Waterford for treatment of non-life threatening injuries sustained as a result of this incident. Investigations are ongoing, said the spokesperson.
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