Dronessetto monitor tourist traps as visitors told ‘stay away’
WEXFORD County Council has vowed to use all resources available to prevent an influx of visitors or any kind of parties or gatherings over the upcoming May bank holiday weekend. The council will be liaising with gardaí and are set to use all resources from community wardens to surveillance drones to ensure that people are adhering to the strict guidelines laid down by the Department of Health.
While there were mixed reports of how many visitors actually arrived into the model county for the Easter bank holiday, Chairman of Wexford County Council Michael Sheehan is adamant that Wexford did see an influx.
‘We can’t have a repeat of what we had on the Easter bank holiday,’ he said. ‘A lot of people came down before the regulations kicked in. In fairness, I know a lot of caravan parks closed and remain closed, but not those with private access. I saw the crowds in Wellingtonbridge myself. They weren’t just down here for a change of scenery, they were here to party.’
While the announcement that the council will be using drone technology to monitor caravan parks, holiday homes and beauty spots was welcomed by most, some people did express some reservations about this level of observation.
‘We have, since Easter been carrying out this monitoring along the coastline,’ said David Minogue of Wexford County Council. ‘I’m delighted to be able to say that we have found very high levels of compliance and very little evidence of travel restriction breaches in these areas to date. We hope that will continue, particularly as we face into the May Bank Holiday weekend, but certainly our evidence would suggest that there is very strong compliance.’
‘This is technology we’ve deployed before in relation to littering,’ Cllr Sheehan added. ‘The way I’d envisage it working is that the drones will be used to monitor beauty spots and caravan parks. If there’s a sneaky entrance onto a beach and there’s a group down there, the drone will pick them up and the operators will get in touch with the authorities who’ll get down there and tell them to high-tail it home.’
‘What we can’t afford to see are barbecues happening on beaches or people gathering in the woods to have a few drinks, things that we’re already starting to see. It defeats the entire purpose of what we’ve done already. We have to continue to adhere to these guidelines. The weather has been really stunning since this began, which brings its own challenges, but we’ve got to keep going. I know people are tired and I know complacency and fatigue can creep in, but we need to try even harder if we’re going to remain one of the least affected counties.’
In terms of visitors, Cllr Sheehan says that ever measure to stop them arriving for the weekend will be taken.
‘These people will be welcomed with open arms when all this is over, but not yet,’ he said.