Village not a pretty sight at weekends

‘CARLINGFORD is not a pretty sight at weekends,’ Cllr Peter Savage stated at last week’s meeting of Louth County Council as he called for a litter warden to be assigned to Carlingford at the weekends.

Volunteers were having to get up a 4am or 5am to empty bins which were filled over the weekend and bags of rubbish were being dumped behind the bring bank on the Newry Road.

He highlighted the problem of dog owners who don’t clean up after their pets. The signs which had been erected in the village asking people to clean up after their dogs seemed to be having no effect, he said.

‘If you walk from the Harbour Road, you don’t walk but slide down into the village,’ he stated.

‘Sooner or later the volunteers will get fed up,’ he said.

While he appreciated the efforts the litter wardens have done when they have been requested to follow up on a problem in the village, he felt a greater presence was needed, particularly at weekends.

Senior Executive Officer Mr Willie Walshe said that there are six litter wardens on duty in the county.

There is a problem with litter and dumping throughout the county which is almost impossible to eliminate.

Dog poo is also a problem everywhere and the council had issued 15 fines in the last two years in relation to people failing to clean up after their dogs.

However, it was very difficult to catch people breaking the law in this regard, he stressed. ‘You have to catch them standing with the dog and it going on.’

In response to questions from councillors, he said that the council would be willing to prosecute if people were willing to stand up in court and give evidence that they had seen people who hadn’t cleaned up after their dogs.