Bray named Ireland's cleanest town

Good planting, spotless car parks and an impeccable promenade have all helped the seaside town of Bray scoop the crown of Ireland's cleanest town.

The Co Wicklow town pipped Cavan to win the top spot in the annual Irish Business Against Litter awards in Dublin today.

This year, a record 39 out of 60 Irish towns were classed as "litter-free". All the major cities were in the bottom third with Limerick branded a litter blackspot.

Ballinasloe, Co Galway, Tallaght in south Dublin, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Athlone, Co Westmeath and Mallow, Co Cork, were also rapped for being seriously littered.

Bray was followed by Cavan, Drogheda, Clonmel and Longford in the top five cleanest towns in the country.

Dr Tom Cavanagh, chairman of IBAL, said current spending cutbacks should not impact on the fight against litter.

“In particular we need to rid ourselves of the idea that enforcement is about fining an individual for dropping a sweet wrapper,” he said.

“It’s more about taking local businesses and other organisations to task for not keeping the areas outside their premises free of litter – areas such as car parks and pavements.”