Call to ensure elderly don't feel 'under pressure' due to begging in Portlaoise
Elderly people shouldn’t feel ‘under pressure’ at the Post Office in Portlaoise due to begging, a councillor has said.
Sinn Fein Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said that people were loitering outside the Post Office in Lyster Square in Portlaoise.
Cllr Dwane Stanley said she didn’t have a problem with the people on streets with a cup in hand, but she felt it was inappropriate outside the Post Office where there are a lot of elderly people coming and going.
She expressed concern that people may feel “under pressure” by people asking for money and she asked that, particularly on the run up to Christmas, Gardai ensure there aren’t lots of people begging outside the Post Office.
“I know that gardai have in the past in fairness have upped patrols in and around that area and I would ask that that continue with particular emphasis coming up to the Christmas,” she said.
She raised the issue at a recent Laois Joint Policing Committee meeting in Portlaoise.