Council funds CCTV crackdown on illegal dumping

Cllr Joe Byrne said the volume of rubbish being dumped around Loughrea was “quite frightening”, describing it as an epidemic.

He had attended a meeting recently about illegal dumping in the Gort area and a lot of money was being spent on cleaning it up, only for it to be repeated.

“We have to make a decision about cameras for rubbish blackspots. The use of mobile CCTV cameras to catch offenders is something we’d really welcome. Towns and villages and county roads are decimated by rubbish being dumped. It’s quite incredible the type of stuff being dumped.”

He urged the Council to consider setting up a civic amenity site in Gort to help with the disposal of white goods and non-residential waste.

He said the State should consider bringing in legislation to deduct people’s social welfare payments if caught littering.

Cllr Jimmy McClearn said it was very frustrating for Council staff who go to great lengths to identify the culprits only to see them treated very leniently in court.

“I’ve seen people caught several times and they simply refuse to pay the fine,” he fumed.

“The laws under which the local authority are operating need to be strengthened considerably. Also the judiciary needs to get real about the situation.”

He recalled that 45 tonnes of rubbish was collected in Woodford alone, which would no better or worse than other small parishes.

Cllr Shane Donnellan said offenders were going to the trouble of removing items which could identify them before dumping and were also throwing things in remote locations never regarded as a blackspot.

“All we can do is collect it and get it out of the area. If there’s no evidence we’re fighting a losing battle. If CCTV cameras are there, these guys will probably get smart again and wear hoodies and cover their number plates.”

Director of Services for water and environment, Jim Cullen, said it was probably easier to keep towns and villages clean than in the wider countryside and the impact of the Tidy Towns initiative should not be underestimated.

Illegal dumping was sometimes the result of people paying to have rubbish collected which was then thrown out by the operator irresponsibly.

He said some illegal dumping occurred near civic amenity sites, which showed people dumped because they simply did not want to pay.

“They are dumping goods that can be returned to shops. It’s a difficult fight. People have got very, very clever and take out things that can identify them so we have to spend more time to catch them out.”

He said the roll-out of the CCTV had been successful and the plan was to roll out more in blackspots.

“We are spending €25,000 to €30,000 on CCTV cameras in the next six months above what was planned for. It will take time for those to yield benefits and then they have to be moved on.”