24-hour team to combat dumping
Cork’s city manager Joe Gavin said he plans to establish a dedicated team to work after hours to monitor dumping hot spots across the city.
The council has over the past two years mounted a number of round-the-clock operations.
But Mr Gavin said he plans to engage in the covert surveillance again in an effort to crack down on illegal dumping.
His comments came after questions from Councillor Mick Barry about illegal dumping on a pathway connecting Meelick Park to Chapel Gate that runs alongside Leeds United’s football pitches in Ballyvolane, Cork city.
Mr Barry sought clarification from Mr Gavin as to the ownership of the laneway. The manager said while no documentary evidence exists on the council’s property register relating to the laneway, he said correspondence shows the city retained a right-of-way over the laneway as a pedestrian access from Meelick Park to Chapel Gate estate, which also included rights to the soccer club to access the pitches. The rights are held under lease from the council, he said.
Mr Barry said the city should clear the rubbish.
But in a strong statement, Mr Gavin said while the city would clear the rubbish in this situation, he said the area would not be cleaned on a weekly basis.
“I don’t see any sense in the council cleaning up dump sites every week. It should not be dumped there in the first place,” he said.
Meanwhile, a clean-up of the Glasheen River is due to start on March 3.
Two armchairs and large inserts for wire coils have been dumped in a section of the river between the Bandon and Sarsfield Road roundabouts.
Councillor Mary Shields said the dumped material is impeding the flow of the river and should be removed immediately.
However, Mr Gavin said the city does not have the money to carry out extensive cleaning of rivers.
Work cannot extend beyond what is necessary to address situations where the flow of the river is being seriously restricted, he said.
