Upkeep of Laois playgrounds questioned after frightening incidents with children

Two frightening incidents with children at local playgrounds have prompted calls for safety audits across all playgrounds in Laois.

A number of worried parents have voiced their concerns regarding the upkeep and safety of playgrounds in Laois, especially in Stradbally and Timahoe.

Cllr Vivienne Phelan called for Laois County Council to complete a comprehensive safety audit of all playgrounds in the county and for the results to be presented to local councillors and the necessary works carried out.

“This motion came about because during the summer I had a lot of queries from concerned parents about a variety of different safety issues, particularly pertaining to Stradbally and Timahoe,” Cllr Phelan said at the September meeting of the Graiguecullen / Portarlington MD.

“The playgrounds are getting older and with that comes more maintenance concerns. In Strabally we had a situation where a young child ran out onto the road because there was a gap between the gate and the fence. Thankfully, nothing happened to the child but as you’d imagine the parents got a terrible fright.”

The Stradbally Councillor also mentioned another similar incident which occurred at the playground in Timahoe not long after this.

“There was a parent who believed the gate was closed behind them with the latch across it. But it opened up when the child pushed up against it and they nearly got out onto the road as well. You would expect to have safe and secure child friendly facilities.”

Cllr Phelan told the Council that other issues were brought to her attention by parents, such as broken equipment and the overgrowth of vegetation and briars.

She added that there is also an issue with the cleanliness of the toilets in the Stradbally playground and argued that an industrial deep cleaning is needed at this stage.

Laois County Council said that all play facilities managed by them are inspected on a weekly basis and a detailed safety inspection by an independent external registered inspector is carried out every 6 months.

The findings from these inspections form the basis for maintenance works year round and priorities are identified according to the risk assessment and availability of parts.

However, Cllr Phelan urged that a systematic audit be carried out to see what work needs to be done as other playgrounds in the county may have similar issues.

“It would be best to address them before anything happens,” she said.

Cllr Ben Brennan also said he does not believe that Laois County Council are carrying out weekly inspections. He pointed out that the playground in Doonane had gates taken down over a year and half ago, yet they still haven’t been replaced despite numerous inquiries.

While on the subject of playgrounds, Cllr Aisling Moran noted that accessibility is also an issue in most playgrounds and said that every playground should have an accessible swing for children with disabilities.

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