'Won't be tolerated' - Kilkenny County Council pledge to clampdown on dumping
The worrying result was discussed at June’s sitting of the Kilkenny City Municipal District
Kilkenny County Council has committed to taking decisive action to combat littering and illegal dumping following concerning results in the latest Irish Business Against Litter rankings (IBAL).
Despite ongoing efforts from community groups and volunteers, Kilkenny City unfortunately dropped from 17th to 30th in the latest rankings and has been classified as ‘moderately littered’ close to the bottom of the table.
The poor condition of a small number of specific sites brought down Kilkenny’s ranking in this latest report, which stated that “it is disappointing to see Kilkenny slip from its customary clean stats.”
The IBAL survey stated that “the presence of one dumped upon site (Collier’s Lane) and another heavily littered one (Bateman Quay) has very much brought down Kilkenny’s overall ranking this time around.”
The disappointing outcome was top of the agenda when both elected members and members of the executive met at June’s sitting of the Kilkenny City Municipal District.
A spokesperson for Kilkenny County Council told councillors that several actions have been taken by litter wardens to combat littering, including the issuing of tickets and engagement with local communities.
The spokesperson said that persistent issues with dog fouling on High Street were a primary concern and contributed to the disappointing result.
Meanwhile, the Director of Services with the local authority, Tim Butler, pledged these actions ‘won’t be tolerated’.
“I would encourage members of the public not to be tolerant of bags of rubbish,” Chairperson of Keep Kilkenny Beautiful, Cllr Maria Dollard said at the meeting, calling on the local community to be “pro-active” and “report” incidents of littering and dumping.
“We are at risk of losing points in the upcoming Tidy Towns competiton,” she stressed.
Cllr Dollard noted that procedures are in place to prosecute offenders and that message needs to get through to the public.
Cllr Sean Ó hArgain took aim at the unauthorised erection of fly posters.
“There should be no excuse for posters on derelict buildings,” he argued while also bemoaning the growing prevalence of vaping litter on John Street.
“I think our staff do a great job, but we always need to demand the best standards,” he commented, complimenting council workers and shop owners who do their bit to keep the city’s streets clean.
“This should not just be for competitions, but for our citizens,” he concluded.
Cllr David FitzGerald also used his speaking time to criticise the use of fly posters, but claimed there is a far wider issue at play.
“It’s time to acknowledge we have a problem and step up,” he said.
“This is the live issue. There is no point in talking about this in two/three months,” he continued.
“Huge efforts are being made by the volunteers of Keep Kilkenny Beautiful, but there is an issue we have to address in the city. Since the loss of the Borough Council, our core city centre is in decline, and we now have actual evidence is in decline from IBAL.
“We need to start to do something actively to counteract this,” Mr FitzGerald claimed, calling for a working group to be set up to turn the tide, commenting, “let's not put our heads in the sand and say this is fine.”
Cllr Eugene McGuinness insisted fines are a necessity to combat the problem.
“It comes down to people who just don’t care,” he commented, noting examples of blatant dumping where a washing machine and exercise bike were dumped in a public place in Newpark.