Pier closed due to dangerous acts
THE north pier in Greystones Harbour has been closed indefinitely following reports of anti-social behaviour by teenagers.
According to gardai, one young person was arrested on Monday during a dispute surrounding this issue. The pier was closed last week as tensions rose between harbour staff and the youths.
It is alleged that young people have jumped into the water in front of boats, interferred with boats, behaved aggressively, and thrown life buoys into the water. It is understood that this type of activity has been seen to escalate over the past number of years. After the closure last week, it is alleged some youths gained access to the pier.
A meeting was due to take place last evening (Tuesday), with Sisk, BJ Marinas, Bridgedale housing,the Coastguard, councillors, harbour users, community gardai and members of the public attending in an attempt to resolve the situation. Dermot Macaulay of Greystones Coastguard said that there has been great danger to the young people as well as other harbour users. There have been several near misses, he said. ‘We had a very near miss with our own rescue boat and I know at least two people from the angling club who had near misses,’ he said.
He added that there could be debris such as poles from the harbour works under the water. ‘A boat wouldn’t hit them, but someone jumping from eight feet could spike themselves.’