A playground in Galway’s newest housing estate is already attracting anti-social behaviour — and it needs to be nipped in the bud before it escalates.

That was the warning from Galway City Councillor Alan Cheevers (FF), who said children were “afraid to play in the playground” of Garraí Beag housing estate on the city’s east side.

There was already anti-social behaviour in the playground, and this was “not a good start for a new estate”.

The newly built social housing estate, with 58 units, was about 90% occupied, and the other homes were being allocated, he told the City East Local Area Council meeting.

Councillor Cheevers said there needed to be a unified, multi-agency response from the City Council, Gardaí, HSE and others.

Elizabeth Fanning, acting Director of Services for Housing, said that the City Council had an informal meeting with Gardaí upcoming and it would be raised at that.

Later in the meeting, Cllr Cheevers said social housing estates run by Approved Housing Bodies, such as Respond and Cluid, had less anti-social behaviour than Galway City Council estates.

He said this was because the Council was under-resourced, and he wondered whether more housing could be transferred to the housing charities.

Councillor Shane Forde (FG) said there was one estate on the east side where there was “pandemonium”, with one resident contacting him to say, “he wants out of it”.

“There are certain estates in City East where there is serious anti-social behaviour,” he said.

Sharon Carroll of the Housing Department said the Council received nearly 5,000 complaints last year, and it had estate management and anti-social behaviour strategies in place.

“We have 2,800 social housing tenancies in the city and the majority abide by the rules. Some don’t . . . and we have evicted people for anti-social behaviour,” she said.

Once evictions are secured, an issue arises that the evicted tenants are homeless and rehoused through the homeless services, she said.

Councillor Cheevers again requested an update on the full cost of Garraí Beag, which was delayed due to a legal wrangle.

The Council terminated its contract with the original contractor, Glenman Construction, in June of 2022.

At the time, it faced criticism for lack of transparency around the termination of the contract.

JJ Rhatigan was subsequently appointed following a tender process to finish the job on the 58-unit estate.

At the latest meeting on Wednesday, Cllr Cheevers said he wanted the full costs of the housing development to be made public.

Ms Fanning said she did not yet have the final costs but would give them at a full City Council meeting as soon as they become available.