€50,000 allocated to tackle graffiti and litter

FUNDING of almost €50,000 is to be made available in the local area to tackle the growing problem of litter and graffiti, it has been revealed.

The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten announced the funding as part of a national programme to tackle graffiti and litter across the country.

Under the scheme, Louth County Council will receive €23,000 to help address the problem while Meath County Council will receive €26,000.

The Minister announced a national allocation of €884,000 under the 2017 Anti-Litter and Anti- Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme (ALAGS), an increase of €194,000 on last year’s grant.

The Scheme provides funding to local authorities to conduct public awareness and education campaigns at a community level targeting litter, dog fouling and graffiti. Each local authority is responsible for selecting the suitable awareness projects that receive funding.

The scheme has been welcomed by local TD Fergus O’Dowd who said: ‘We have seen extreme examples of littering in recent weeks in particular in parts of Louth, this money must now be utilised to educate and warn people of the dangers and liabilities of littering, dog-fouling, tagging and general graffiti to both themselves and the wider public.

‘In my own area of Drogheda it never ceases to amaze me the amount of dog-fouls that can present in and around dog fouling bins that have been provided and in good working order, we need to change the approach towards these types of anti-social behaviours and encourage people to take it upon themselves as their civic duty to report littering and graffiti and to of course not participate in it in the first place.’