*Photograph: Páraic McMahon
PERSONS FOUND guilty of having driven to a location to fly-tip should lose their licence, an Ennis councillor has argued.
Elected representatives in the Ennis Municipal District have called for stricter consequences for persons found to be illegally dumping items and rubbish across the county.
A novel way to clamp down on the crime is to target the driving licence of offenders, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) stated. “Our beauty spots have been vandalised by people with no respect for the environment and are more concerned with some economic saving. There needs to be more significant enforcement. I would like to see that if anyone is caught bringing rubbish from areas and dumping it that they lose their driving licence when they are found to be causing significant harm”.
Barefield based Cllr Ann Norton (IND) had tabled a motion seeking the Ennis MD to review the amount of visible signs on roads and to replenish those that have been reviewed. “There are a number of roads coming into Ennis that are targeted by fly dumping which is very frustrating for people who try to keep the Ennis MD tidy. It’s important that signs are visible as a reminder to people no dumping is a crime,” she outlined.
Senior executive officer in the Ennis MD, Leonore O’Neill said they would endeavour to replenish signs or increase their visibility when “informed of specific locations where works are required”. She said MD staff would contact the Tidy Towns Committees in Ennis, Barefield and Clarecastle to determine specific locations where there may be benefit in installing additional signage.
Fly-tipping on the outskirts of Ennis is “ridiculous,” Cllr Norton fumed. “The amount of work that goes into keeping all the communities of Ennis and Clare, it is an insult to the people that are trying to keep our communities clean and litter free”.
An active volunteer with Ennis Tidy Towns, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) said the amount of fly-tipping across Clare was “hugely frustrating”. She remarked, “People seem to think it is ok to drive by and throw a bag of rubbish out the window. I see it by the Claureen River on the N85, bags of rubbish dumped, what purpose is it serving. The crows and seagulls attack them on the side of the road, then there is rubbish everywhere”.
She continued, “I get chills when I hear the phrase ‘man in a van’, a lot of them are taking rubbish from other people and just dumping it at the side of the road”. Howard said, “It is filty and disgusting and I wonder what homes do these people come from. Outside of charity shops are haunted with mattreses and buggies piled up outside their shop on the footpath, they didn’t look for the stuff but some other people couldn’t be bothered”.
Use of CCTV to tackle illegal dumping had been sanctioned under the Circular Economy Bill, approved in the Oireachtas. An update on its progress was sought by Cllr Howard. In response, Ms O’Neill clarified that the Act has not been fully enacted and that they were unsure on the provision for CCTV usage.
Councillors were contacted by Clarecastle Tidy Towns who spent hours on Saturday cleaning the approach road to the village but were left dejected when in the space of twenty four hours, rubbish was dumped along the stretch of road. “There has to be a deterrent,” Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) stressed.
“It is very upsetting when you see great people night and day working for their communities and they wake up to find rubbish everywhere. It is not just a problem for our county, it is right across the country, there is no excuse for people putting rubbish on the side of the road, it is just uncalled for,” commented Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF).
All councillors feel the frustration, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) observed. “I believe it’s the repeat offenders in Clarecastle, it is only when we get the CCTV more prevalent that we might have an impact. It’s been going on since I was elected, there will always be a cohort that don’t care but if they can be deterred and prosecuted then they will care”.
