Dog fouling in public to cost owners up to €3,000
Owners are being urged to clean up after their pets in Tralee or face fines up to €3,000.
Dog foul on footpaths and other public areas in the county town is an increase source of concern.
Tralee Town Council has warned about the new penalty measures contained in the council’s draft litter management plan.
Local councillors have complained of dog fouling in the town park, housing estates along with a cycle path and walkway along the banks of the local River Lee.
Pooper scoopers have been placed in a number of locations in Tralee, but they are not being used enough, it is claimed.
There have also been complaints that, though signs warning people of the penalties involved have been erected in both in Tralee and Killarney, dog owners are not adhering to them and are not being prosecuted for failing to clean up after their pets.
Meanwhile, Tralee town council is to investigate the possibility of using “spy” cameras to catch litterbugs in the act.
The suggestion was made by Sinn Féin councillor Toireasa Ferris who said a system in Wexford used cameras could zoom in on a person, with an operator warning them they are littering via a loudspeaker.
The cameras could be moved to any part of Wexford town and nobody knew where they were going to be placed, Ms Ferris pointed out.
“In Wexford, they have had great success with the cameras in heavily-littered areas of the town,” she added.
Officials in Tralee town council, which spends around €750,000 each year in litter control and dealing with indiscriminate dumping, are to examine the possibility of getting cameras.
The draft litter plan is to go out on public consultation for six weeks and people are invited to make submissions to it.
