A man whom gardaí claim is a leading member of a Limerick criminal gang has been banned from entering four housing estates in the city following a rare application by the local authority.
It is only the second time that Limerick City Council has sought an exclusion order in Limerick, which was made under section 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997, as amended in 2004.
Following an application before the local District Court, Paul Crawford (33), O'Malley Park, was banned from four estates in the Southill area for 18 months.
Before granting the application, Limerick District Court heard evidence from two senior gardaí who agreed it was "good estate management" by Limerick City Council to seek the exclusion order.
Det Sgt Denis Treacy claimed Mr Crawford was a leading member of a criminal gang involved in the supply and distribution of drugs in Limerick.
Det Sgt Treacy claimed Mr Crawford was also linked to a city-wide feud which had claimed six lives in the past 18 months, including the life of his brother Noel.
The court heard Garda claims that Mr Crawford used his parents' home at O'Malley Park where he was living as a headquarters for gangs who were looking to establish strongholds in the Southill area.
Det Sgt Treacy said there were 16 shootings in Southill in the second half of last year and he was aware of people who had abandoned their homes after they were targeted.
The court heard there was a "dramatic drop" in the number of incidents from December 18th, 2006, to June 17th, 2007, when Mr Crawford was in custody after being convicted of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to a woman on the morning of his brother's murder.
The court heard that gardaí were contacted by people who expressed concern for their safety should Mr Crawford return to live in O'Malley Park following his release from custody.
Defence solicitor Ted McCarthy said except for his client's most recent conviction, the majority of his 19 previous convictions related to road matters. He also stressed that Mr Crawford had no previous convictions for firearms, assault or drugs-related offences and accused gardaí of using the civil proceedings as an "arena" to publicly report rumour, suspicion and innuendo.
Judge Tom O'Donnell said it was only the second case of its kind to come before the court in Limerick and noted that the burden of proof was of a lower standard because it was a civil matter as distinct from a criminal one. He accepted the evidence was "very emotive and subjective", but said he was happy with the tenure of the evidence.
He granted the exclusion order but only for 18 months and not for the maximum of three years. He also only made the order for O'Malley Park, Kincora Park, John Carew Park and Keyes Park estates in Southill, and not for the Ballinacurra Weston and Prospect areas, which were also sought.