Dundalk cleans up in tidiest town title

ONE shy of first place in 2006, Dundalk was not to be outdone this time around in its quest to capture the title of cleanest town in Ireland.

Crowned overall winners in a nationwide anti-litter league, the town famous for rearing the Corrs and Steve Staunton now has the added distinction of being “litter free”.

Its selection yesterday as Ireland’s cleanest town prompted local authority officials to pin the victory on consistent efforts to keep the town and its approach roads litter free.

“We commend our own staff and the consistent effort of businesses, schools, community groups and individuals that all went into helping Dundalk achieve this award,” said Dundalk Town Council chairman Jim D’Arcy.

Dundalk town clerk Frank Pentony said further money would be set aside in the 2008 budget for litter management.

Louth county manager Conn Murray said the award was “a very timely boost for the entire region”, particularly in terms of tourism and investment.

An Taisce, in its report on Dundalk, said Dundalk stood out “for the consistent cleanliness of its environs, from the approach roads to the main streets and municipal areas”.

The Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) Anti Litter League is the largest ever litter survey conducted in Ireland, with all areas with a population of more than 6,000 covered. Sites are graded by An Taisce according to international standards.

Under the IBAL survey, 22 towns were given “litter free” status, with Cavan and last year’s winner, Fermoy, in Co Cork, in second and third place respectively.

In the drop zone, Mallow, Co Cork, ranked fourth from the bottom in a list of 50 towns, sharing the shame of being one of the country’s four “litter black spots” with Tallaght, Nenagh, and, scraping rock bottom, Sligo town.

In Tallaght, Fianna Fáil TD Charlie O’Connor said he was disappointed with the survey results. “The local authorities, the business community and the fast- food outlets clearly have a role to play in ensuring the streets are maintained to a higher standard,” he said.

Mallow mayor Cllr Noel O’Connor said he was “furious” with the results and would be calling a meeting with IBAL chairman Dr Tom Cavanagh to discuss the issue. “The system of judging is flawed and it’s done enormous damage to my town. It has gone from litter free to a litter black spot in a year and there is no appeals mechanism,” said Mr O’Connor.

The IBAL survey found fast-food packaging was the most common form of litter and was rising by almost a third each year.