Killarney crowned as cleanest town in the country

KILLARNEY in Co Kerry is the cleanest town in Ireland, according to the latest survey by Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL).

However, an overall clean report for most of the country was blotted by “Dirty Dublin”, while deprived areas in the capital and in Cork were dubbed litter blackspots.

The north inner city in Dublin and Knocknaheeny in Cork joined Dublin city at the bottom of the league table of 53 areas across the country.

It is the first time that Killarney has taken the accolade of cleanest town.

An Taisce, which conducted the survey, said it was “a superb result for our number-one tourist town”.

The cleanliness rating for the entire country, at 82, was the highest ever achieved since IBAL began its surveys 10 years ago.

Two-thirds of towns and cities were found to have levels of cleanliness that matched European norms. Among them were Waterford, Galway and, for the first time, Cork.

More than 20 towns were deemed cleaner than European equivalents.

Dublin, however, bucked the trend and was slammed for its worst result in years after large parts of the capital, including the approach roads from Dublin Airport as well as the north inner city, were found to be heavily littered.

IBAL has warned that the rise in vacant and derelict properties were contributing to increased litter and unsightliness in certain areas.

Chairman TomCavanagh said foreign visitors usually arrived in Dublin, where they were being exposed to wide-spread litter, starting at the roads from the airport.

“This is a national issue, not a local one: Ireland cannot be deemed a clean destination for tourists if Dublin itself is not clean and that doesn’t just mean the city centre,” Dr Cavanagh stressed.

An Taisce said the majority of the sites in Dublin were not just littered but were suffering from long-term abuse and neglect. It pointed out that food-related litter was common on most of the approach roads into the city.

Dr Cavanagh said the initial results for Knocknaheeny and Dublin’s north inner city were not a surprise.

“A clean environment is critical to disadvantaged areas as it can help stimulate a civic pride and self-respect, which in turn impacts positively on all aspects of social life in these communities,” Dr Cavanagh said.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan said he accepted that there were problems in both Dublin and Cork and urged the local authorities responsible to work with community groups.

He added that his department and the local authorities were working hard to find viable long-term solutions to the problem of vacant and derelict properties in towns and cities.