Named and shamed: the country’s litter blackspots

AN area of Limerick city has been named the most littered place in the country, with parts of Dublin, Galway and Cork cities also branded rubbish blackspots.

A survey by Irish Business Against Litter found Galvone in Limerick was the only area considered to be ‘seriously littered’ among the 25 towns and 15 city areas examined.

The report stated there was little improvement in several sites in the area which were previously found to be littered, suggesting that the ‘city council are not getting to grips with the litter problem in the area’.

Galvone was followed by Cork North City and Ballybane in Galway city, as well as parts of Dublin, including the north inner city and Ballymun, on the rubbish round-up table.

But while still considered to be littered, Dublin’s north inner city saw its best performance since 2011.

Previous blackspot Tallaght also saw an improvement, climbing to fifth in the rankings and considered ‘cleaner than European norms’.

Nearly 90% of towns were classified as clean, with 40% deemed to be cleaner than the EU average.

However, city areas didn’t fare as well, occupying six of the bottom seven spots in the rankings.

Waterford was once again declared Ireland’s cleanest city.

The title of Ireland’s cleanest town is now up for grabs, with Ennis, Roscommon and last year’s winner Kildare all vying for the title, which will be announced today by Communications Minister Denis Naughten.

According to the group, progress in cities has been much slower and less consistent than in towns.

IBAL’s Conor Horgan said this is due to lack of community involvement.

He added: ‘In this latest survey, for example, we have seen reversals in recent improvements in Dublin city centre and Ballymun, as well as in Galway city’s Ballybane and Mahon in Cork, in a way that we have not witnessed in towns.’

The group also believes it’s no coincidence that the worst performing areas are also among the least affluent in the country.

‘Products of poor planning, disadvantaged communities are prone to litter on two fronts,’ Mr Horgan said, adding they are neglected by local authorities in favour of city centres.

‘This is compounded by an absence of pride in the locality in these areas, where communities are often transient and amenities lacking.’