‘Dog fouling on the Cliff Walk could be detrimental to the image of town’

THE issue of dog fouling in Greystones was discussed at large at the latest meeting of Greystones Town Council last Tuesday night.

The issue was first raised by Cllr Kathleen Kelleher, who claimed that the amount of dog faeces along the Cliff Walk in Greystones was ‘appalling' and could ultimately prove detrimental to the image of the town, with the Cliff Walk set to host large numbers of visitors during the forthcoming world record attempt for the longest ribbon chain on May 11.

‘ The dog fouling along Cliff Walk is absolutely revolting,' she claimed. ‘We don't want the 4,000 visitors that could be here [for the World Record Challenge] to come here to come across dog dirt – it's disgraceful.'

Cllr George Jones concurred that the degree of dog dirt was ‘absolutely appalling' while Mayor Stephen Stokes believed it reinforced calls for a dog park for Greystones where ‘owners would be peer pressured to clean up [their dog's dirt].'

Cllr Chris Maloney suggested that the local dog warden be instructed to inspect the area and be allowed issue fines to unlicenced dog owners as a deterrent.

The subject later resurfaced in the form of a motion raised by Councillors James O'Sullivan, George Jones, Grainne McLoughlin and Derek Mitchell who asked how many fines had been issued by litter wardens with regards to dog fouling in the area.

During this discussion, Cllr George Jones proposed that litter and traffic wardens concentrate their efforts for three days a week on spots where fouling is particularly prevalent and at times when most offending occurs, such as early morning.

This met with the agreement of the rest of the council.