Call for naming and shaming of people convicted of illegal dumping

PEOPLE convicted of illegal dumping in Cork could be named and shamed as part of a new crackdown.

City manager Joe Gavin said he would consider the step to tackle what he said was an “absolutely scandalous” level of illegal dumping in the city.

He released figures on Monday night which showed that the council collected over 327 tonnes of illegally dumped rubbish in October 2005, over twice the amount collected in October 2004.

Almost 191 tonnes of illegally dumped rubbish was collected last October.

Mr Gavin said the council secured 15 convictions in the courts for illegal dumping in recent weeks. And the clampdown will continue, he said.

He urged councillors to “discourage and condemn” such abuse of the environment and he appealed to members of the public to assist the council by providing evidence of illegal dumping.

Cllr Terry Shannon (FF) urged the manager to name and shame those who were convicted of such offences.

“We certainly will consider that,” Mr Gavin said.

Limerick City Council began a policy of naming and shaming litter offenders last year as part of a major crackdown.

The local authority brought 85 successful convictions in the District Court in 2003 compared to 54 the previous year and 20 in 2001.

Limerick County Council also began to use a light aircraft last year to detect illegal dump sites.

Cork Socialist Party Cllr Mick Barry said the new figures from Cork showed there was now a “dumping epidemic” in the city.

He said the figures showed that City Hall’s waste strategy was heading towards “total disaster”.

He condemned the illegal dumpers but said the city’s policy was “a big part of the problem”.

But Mr Gavin defended the council’s policy. “Cork city has the most generous waiver scheme in the country,” he said.

The city was hit by a wave of illegal dumping last year after the council upped its big collection charges.

Councillors are debating new bin collection charges for inclusion in the city’s 2007 budget.

The most controversial proposal is to charge pensioners whose sole income is the social welfare pension €3 to have their bins collected.

There are also proposals to increase the bin tag charge from €5 to €6 and to maintain the standing charge at €290.

The proposals will be voted upon at the council’s budget meeting on December 18.

Meanwhile, Mr Gavin has confirmed that there have been no convictions in the last 12 months for dog fouling.

He said the level of dog fouling in the city was “disgraceful” and even worse that illegal dumping.

“A litter fine under this section can only be issued when a litter warden observes a dog in the act of fouling and can identify the person in charge of the dog,” he said.

Cllr Annette Spillane (SF) said it was impossible for the city’s only litter warden to enforce the law under such circumstances.