Penalty points suggested for littering motorists

The Government was today urged to introduce penalty points to punish litter-bug motorists.

The organisers behind the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey called on gardaí to extend the road traffic points system to include drivers caught throwing their rubbish on the nation’s highways.

The latest IBAL survey of 50 Irish towns and cities revealed Navan, Co Meath, and Newbridge, Co Kildare as the dirtiest towns in the country, with Carlow placed at the top of the league as litter free.

But for Killarney, Athlone, Cork, Limerick and Nenagh, it was the abundance of litter on approach roads and roundabouts which brought down their overall ranking, with passing motorists singled-out as the main culprits.

“In many cases the town councils and city councils are doing their bit in keeping the streets free of litter,” said IBAL’s Dr Tom Cavanagh.

“The impression of a town is coloured hugely by what one encounters on approaching it.

“For this reason we need to find ways of targeting those who dump or litter from their vehicles. Issuing one penalty point per litter offence is one suggestion.

“Another is to build lay-bys on our motorways equipped with suitable litter bins to facilitate truck drivers who often have their meals on the go, resulting in an accumulation of litter.

“These facilities are seriously lacking,” he said.

The IBAL survey revealed litter levels have improved by 2% during the same time last year.

The average cleanliness rating for the country is now 75 points, according to the survey, bringing it within sight of the 80-point mark which is deemed clean to European norms.

IBAL has warned the peak summer season is a critical time for areas to show their best side to visitors.

According to organisers, Fáilte Ireland reported the majority of tourists to Ireland find it less clean than they expected.

“There is no doubt that our cleanliness levels are continuing to rise,” added Dr Cavanagh.

“To sustain this progress, county councils, whose remit it is to keep the areas outside the towns clean, will have to take litter seriously, not least on approach roads.

“IBAL will be monitoring these roads more and more in future surveys.”

Dublin City was omitted from the Litter League in 2007, but will be compared against other cities in a European League to be published later this year.