Repair work to vandalised playground to cost Dublin City Council up to €300,000

Sarah Slater

Repair work to a city centre playground is to cost Dublin City Council up to €300,000 after parts were set on fire by vandals last weekend.

The playground in Dublin City was “extensively damaged” by vandals last Friday.

The council confirmed that parts of the playground were damaged by fire and also extended to the park’s perimeter fencing, prompting Parks Services to declare the playground “unsafe” and close the area pending "a full safety investigation”.

Temporary fencing, which was erected to restrict access following the incident, was also vandalised and removed over the weekend.

Parks Services confirmed that efforts are now underway to install a “more robust fencing system” while extensive “repairs and replacements” are carried out at the playground.

A council spokesperson said the playground will remain closed until these works are completed.

The refurbished playground and park were opened by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe in his Dublin Central constituency in 2023.

In a report to local councillors, the council outlined that the park and playground sustained “significant damage" following an incident of anti-social behaviour. The gathering resulted in “extensive vandalism, including malicious damage” to the playground equipment and severe fire damage to the play tower.

Following the incident, the council deemed it necessary to close the park the following day to undertake a thorough assessment of the damage and to ensure the site’s safety for public access.

The report added that in addition to the damage sustained to the playground, several fencing panels were found to be irreparably damaged. For health and safety reasons, these panels have been removed.

“Regrettably, the playground will remain closed in its entirety until repair works can be scheduled and completed,” said Deirdre Prince, Senior Executive, Parks Office with the Council in the report.

This is the third time vandalism has caused significant damage to the playground and the park, which has resulted in the closure of this much-needed amenity space in the area since its opening just over two years ago.

Ms Prince continued: “In addition to the recent acts of vandalism, there have been several incidents of anti-social behaviour against security personnel who were obstructed from performing their duties in both Diamond Park and Liberty Park.”

She added that such behaviour is “completely unacceptable and is being treated with the utmost seriousness”. As a direct consequence, security staff are currently unavailable to secure these parks at night. Accordingly, Liberty Park will remain closed until alternative security arrangements have been implemented.

Parks Services are to engage a playground specialist to survey the playground to ensure that the fire has not significantly damaged any structural elements. It is estimated that the repair work will be in the order of €250,000 to €300,000, including the fence panels.

The Parks Team is liaising with the Area Office and An Garda Síochána regarding the recent serious incidents of vandalism in the park.

“As a trial measure, it has been agreed with the area office that the damaged fence panels will be removed and Diamond Park will remain open to facilitate Garda access, patrols, and ongoing monitoring of activity within the park at all times,” noted Ms Prince.

The playground is not far from where several tourists were attacked in the same year and is on the site of former tenement buildings on the corner of Lower Gardiner Street in Dublin 1.

These were knocked down and replaced by a previous park in the late 1980s. The current site includes a sprawling grass area, a football pitch, a playground, basketball and table tennis facilities.

The redevelopment was part of a wider effort by Dublin City Council to improve parks close to social housing complexes and student accommodation.