Call for litterbugs to be named and shamed
CLLR ALSO CALLS FOR ‘ON THE SPOT’ LITTER FINES TO BE DOUBLED T0 €300
A COUNTY councillor is to call for greater powers to be given to local authorities to tackle illegal dumping – including increased fines and the ability to ‘name and shame’ those caught in the act.
Cllr John Paul O’Shea (Ind) said he intended to raise the issue of littering at full council in a motion asking that the authority write to the Department of the Environment seeking changes to penalties under the existing Litter Pollution Act.
Speaking at the June Kanturk/Mallow committee meeting, Cllr O’Shea said the scale of the problem in North Cork was illustrated in last week’s edition of The Corkman in an article about the illegal dumping of waste on Coillte owned land at Nadd.
“There were a couple of photographs graphically illustrating just how bad the littering situation is out in Nadd,” said Cllr O’Shea.
“In fairness to The Corkman they have also carried a number of stories highlighting the problems at various different places across the region,” he added.
Under current legislation people can be hit with an on-the-spot fine of €150 for littering or a maximum fine of €3,000 if convicted in a District Court.
Cllr O’Shea said he would like to see the initial fine doubled to €300.
“The current fine is too small and people seem willing to pay that and simply walk away. In addition to increasing the fine I would like to see the names of those caught printed in the papers,” he said.
“The Department of Social Protection are able to publish the names of defaulters and fraudsters. I want local authorities to be able to do the same to people caught littering.
If people know their names are going to get published if they are caught, they will think twice about their actions,” he added.
Cllr O’Shea said the council should also seek additional government funding for more CCTV cameras at dumping hotspots around the county.
“Apparently, the Environment Minister Denis Naughten has announced funding for more CCTV cameras at littering blackspots, but we have seen little of that trickle down locally. I’m pretty sure that council officials could name a number of locations in North Cork where cameras could be used successfully,” he said.
Cllr Timmy Collins (Ind) agreed, describing the situation in Nadd as “scandalous”.
“In fairness to Coillte they have a lot of land to cover and it is very difficult to supervise it all. Like Cork County Council they spend a lot of time and money cleaning up rubbish,” said Cllr Collins.
“Cameras have proven to be a useful deterrent and should be used more widely in places like Nadd,” he said.