Vandals target local crèche

STAFF at a Northside crèche are making determined efforts to protect their community run facility from being targeted by vandals during the summer holidays.

Fledglings Crèche at Colaiste Eanna in Cabra has been recently subjected to mindless attacks from youngsters who hang around the facility in the evenings and on weekends.

On most weeks staff are forced to remove graffiti, repair broken windows and tidy up debris left by the youths who regularly clamber onto the roof of the building and into its grounds.

Fledglings will be closing for the summer next month and manager Grainne Hartin says the attacks tend to become more frequent during the good weather.

“There’s vandalism almost every weekend,

? she told Northside People.

Groups of youths are coming into the grounds, damaging the outdoor play area and they’ve also smashed three windows.

“There’s often graffiti all over the crèche; they turn over the bins and set fires by the fence. Every Monday we find something has happened over the weekend that has to be repaired.

“A couple of weeks ago the toilets were blocked and when we got somebody out to fix it, it turned out they’d been throwing rocks down the drains.

“It’s got worse with the long evenings and the good weather. We’ve notified the guards and they’ve come up a few times but they’ve limited resources and there’s nothing really they can do, especially when we don’t have CCTV.

?

Fledglings is a community based, not-for-profit childcare facility and funds aren’t available for hi-tech security systems. The damage caused is also not enough to make insurance claims and the cost of repairs eats into Fledglings’ modest budget.

However, staff and parents have come together in an effort to raise funds for security measures to help protect the facility over the summer months. Last week a well-supported fun sports day was held to help with the cause.

“It was a really, really good day,

? said Fledglings assistant manager Eimear Furlong.

“It was a great success and all the kids and the parents really enjoyed it.

“We raised e320 so far and some of the parents have yet to drop up what they raised so there could be a bit more.

“The money will be spent on security measures, but we haven’t decided exactly what yet.

“There was no more actual damage done last weekend but they broke windows in the college next door.

“They’re still in here every night, though, leaving rubbish like packets of crisps and cans of coke lying around, but at least that’s not damage as such.

“We’re closed for the summer months and we’re worried about what’s going to happen while we’re away.

“This is why we want to get security measures in place sooner rather than later.

?

Fledglings receives some Government funding and have applied for two grants to help them protect their premises. They are hoping for a decision before the end of term.

“All we can do is wait and see what happens,

? added Ms Furlong.