Nixer sp robe causes rift in community

April 1981

A Wexford community is being divided in two by people who inform the Department of Social Welfare of friends and neighours who do odd jobs for cash while also receiving the dole.

Now the Department has been asked to state clearly if these informers are being paid for their information, or does the Department have someone working full-time to root out those doing nixers.

It was claimed this week that a wedge is being driven between the community in the Liam Mellows Park, Kennedy Park, Corish Park and Wolfe Tone Villas area of Wexford town.

A local man, who did not wish to be named, so people no longer know who their real friends are. ‘Decent people are getting their names slurred,’ he said. ‘ They are just doing an odd bit of work to try make a few quid but they are being reported for it.’

He said there is now a huge amount of distrust in the area because these people believe it is their neighbours who are reporting them.

He said - ‘people on long-term unemployment benefit need to do nixers. Most of them are only working to try and survive. But six people in Kennedy Park alone have been hauled up over this in the past few weeks.

‘ There is bad feeling in the area over this. People want to know where the information is coming from, and if taxpayer money is being used to encourage people to ‘grass’ on others.

‘Whoever the people giving the information are, they should give their names. The Department should ignore anonymous letters,’ he contended.