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RTÉ News
2 days ago
- General
- RTÉ News
Areas in Dublin and Cork 'seriously littered' despite nationwide improvement
Areas in Dublin and Cork were two of the most littered in the country despite a nationwide improvement on last year, the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey shows. The new report revealed that the number of areas deemed littered or worse is at its lowest in five years. Cork city's northside and Dublin's north inner city both featured at the bottom of the rankings and were labelled as "seriously littered". Only two of the 25 sites surveyed in Dublin's north inner city area warranted a 'clean' grade - the lowest number in years. IBAL's Conor Horgan said: "Unfortunately litter was everywhere in the north inner city, in stark contrast to the city centre just a few streets away." He stressed the negative impact of waste collection by bags instead of bins as "greater than ever", with scavenging by gulls a persistent problem. "We need the council to come good on its intention to convert the entire city to bin collection services. "In addition, it is high time that appropriate legal changes were brought into effect to allow the council to pursue those responsible for littered basements, an age-old blight on our capital city," he added. Meanwhile, Dublin and Cork city centres were noted as being "clean for peak tourist season". According to the An Taisce report for Dublin city centre, "considerable improvements" were noted at sites previously deemed as heavily littered. These included sites on Middle Abbey Street, O'Connell Street, Nth. Frederick Street and beside the Jervis Luas. Dumping on Dominic Lane and a littered basement on Parnell Square prevented the capital from attaining a "clean" status. However, the environs of Dublin Airport, typically found to be clean, were this time found by the An Taisce inspectors to be "moderately littered". Naas was once again top of the ranking of 40 towns and cities, ahead of Ennis and Killarney. Overall, two-thirds of towns were clean, which was up on last year. The survey found the main streets of towns to be generally clean, as were heritage and amenity sites. Residential areas, bus and train stations and recycle facilities were most likely to be littered. The report also noted a fall-off in disposable vape litter, adding that the prevalence of coffee cups on our streets "remains stubbornly high". Plastic bottle and can litter are down 50% on previous levels one year on from the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme. However, they were still found in 20% of the 500-plus sites surveyed across the country. "We hope that the scheme will see the disappearance of this litter, but statistics so far do not bear this out.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
Praise for Queen Maeve Square as Sligo receives top marks in latest litter survey
The survey reveals Sligo is again 'Cleaner than European Norms' and rising to 6th spot in the ranking of 40 towns and cities across Ireland. The An Taisce report for Sligo stated: 'A superb result for Sligo, with 8 of the 10 sites surveyed achieving the top grade. These included the N4 Ray MacSharry/Joe Banks Approach Road, Doorly Park/playground, Bring Facility at Connaughton Road and O'Connell Street – these sites were not just good with regards to litter by freshly presented and maintained. "A lovely new addition to the town of Sligo is Queen Maeve Square – this has been attractively laid out and was looking very well,' the report said. ON the downside however, the report points out that the most heavily littered site surveyed in Sligo was Adelaide Street Car Park. "Not only was it heavily littered but general maintenance appeared to be lacking.' The report goes on to say that as a general observation, there was plenty of evidence of Tidy Towns Murals at many of the sites surveyed and within Sligo town generally. Overall, two-thirds of towns were clean, which was up on 2024. Naas was once again top of the ranking of 40 towns and cities, ahead of Ennis and Killarney. Only 4 areas were branded littered or seriously littered – the lowest number in 5 years. Both Dublin and Cork city centres have improved in advance of the peak season for visitors. 'It is encouraging to see that our main city centres – Dublin and Cork – have improved as we welcome summer visitors to our country. Clean streets are imperative, given the challenges facing Ireland as a high-cost destination,' says IBAL's Conor Horgan One year on from the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme, plastic bottles and can litter is down 50% on previous levels but was still found in 20% of the 500-plus sites surveyed across the country. "We hope that the scheme will see the disappearance of this litter, but statistics so far do not bear this out. Cans and plastic bottles are far from a rare sight on our streets and in our hedgerows," says Mr Horgan. 'While the prevalence of coffee cups on the streets remains stubbornly high, there was a fall-off in disposable vape litter. The UK and Northern Ireland outlawed disposable vapes earlier this month and a ban here is likely in the coming months,' said the report. The survey found the main streets of towns to be generally clean, as were heritage and amenity sites. Residential areas, bus and train stations and recycle facilities were most likely to be littered.
The Journal
2 days ago
- General
- The Journal
Areas deemed littered at lowest level in five years - but Dublin and Cork have 'deteriorated'
THE NUMBER OF areas around the country deemed littered is at its lowest level in five years, according to the group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL). The survey of 40 towns and cities, which is carried out by the environment NGO An Taisce on behalf of IBAL, found that two-thirds of towns were clean overall, an increase on last year. Naas topped the ranking for the second year in a row, ahead of Ennis and Killarney. However, the IBAL survey said that while Dublin and Cork city centres have improved in advance of the peak season for visitors, the capital's North Inner City and Cork Northside have both 'deteriorated'. Cork Northside fell to 'seriously littered', while Dublin's North Inner City, also seriously littered, came out at the bottom of the survey. Only two of the 25 sites surveyed in the area warranted a clean grade – the lowest number in years. 'Considerable improvements' were noted at some Dublin sites previously deemed as heavily littered, including Middle Abbey Street, O'Connell Street, North Frederick Street and beside the Jervis Luas. Among the litter blackspots found were Spencer Dock, which suffered from dumping of household items; Dorset Lane, where large black sacks, a mattress and clothing items were strewn about; and the environs of the Royal Canal, where sacks of rubbish and other miscellaneous items, including some tents, featured among the litter. It said that dumping on Dominic Lane and a littered basement on Parnell Square prevented Dublin from attaining 'clean' status. IBAL IBAL 'Unfortunately litter was everywhere in the North Inner City, in stark contrast to the City Centre just a few streets away,' IBAL's Conor Horgan said. Advertisement Horgan said the negative impact of waste collection by bags instead of bins 'appears greater than ever'. He added that there would likely be 'no progress' in the North Inner City without a ban on bags, and called on Dublin City Council to convert the city to bin collection services. Businesses in Dublin city centre will be banned from leaving their waste in plastic bags for collection from 16 September. The top nine places in Ireland that were deemed 'cleaner than European norms' are as follows, and in this order: Naas, Ennis, Killarney, Leixlip, Monaghan, Sligo, Tullamore, Waterford City and Wicklow. Deposit Return Scheme Only four areas were branded littered or seriously littered overall, including Ballybane in Galway and Tallaght in Dublin. An Taisce inspectors found the environs of Dublin Airport, which are 'normally clean', to be moderately littered. Ballymun, Carlow, Fermoy, Longford and Navan were also among some of the areas found to be moderately littered. The survey noted that plastic bottle and can litter is down 50% on previous levels, a year on from the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme. However, it said this kind of litter was still found in 20% of the 500-plus sites surveyed across the country. 'We hope that the scheme will see the disappearance of this litter, but statistics so far do not bear this out,' Horgan said, adding that cans and plastic bottles 'are far from a rare sight on our streets and in our hedgerows'. The survey also found that the prevalence of coffee cups on streets across the country remains stubbornly high. But there was a fall-off in disposable vape litter. Last year, Cabinet approved draft legislation to ban the sale of disposable vapes in Ireland. A ban on selling the products in Northern Ireland and the UK came into effect on 1 June. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Independent
Revealed: Lowest number of litter blackspots in five years – but some areas remain stubbornly dirty, new survey finds
However, north inner-city Dublin and Cork city's northside remain 'seriously littered', according to the Irish Business Against Litter (Ibal) survey. Ibal's Conor Horgan said: 'Unfortunately litter was everywhere in the north inner city [Dublin], in stark contrast to the city centre just a few streets away. 'The negative impact of waste collection by bags instead of bins, appears greater than ever, with scavenging by gulls a persistent problem. 'No progress is likely in the north inner city without a ban on bags. We need the council to come good on its intention to convert the entire city to bin-collection services. 'In addition, it's high time that appropriate legal changes were brought into effect to allow the council to pursue those responsible for littered basements, an age-old blight on our capital city.' Dublin City Council plans to eliminate bag collections within the next year. City residents and businesses will need to use designated bins for waste collection instead of leaving out loose plastic bags. The move is intended to create a cleaner area. Naas in Co Kildare was top of the 40 cities and towns who have been deemed 'cleaner than European norms'. Ennis, Co Clare, was placed second, Killarney, Co Kerry, was third and Leixlip, Co Kildare, was placed fourth. Ibal said its latest survey showed more towns were clean than last year and the number of areas deemed littered or worse is at its lowest in five years. In general, Dublin and Cork city centres had improved in advance of the peak season for visitors, the survey noted. Only four areas were judged to be littered or seriously littered. Among these were Ballybane in Co Galway and Tallaght in Dublin, which suffered a dramatic fall compared to last year. A year on from the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme, plastic bottle and can litter is down 50pc on previous levels but was still found in 20pc of more than 500 sites surveyed across the country, the survey noted. 'We hope the scheme will see the disappearance of this litter, but statistics so far do not bear this out. Cans and plastic bottles are far from a rare sight on our streets and in our hedgerows,' said Mr Horgan. The litter blackspots in Dublin city were Spencer Dock, which suffered from dumping of household items; Dorset Lane, where large black sacks, a mattress and clothing items were left and the environs of the Royal Canal, where sacks of rubbish and other miscellaneous items, including tents, were among the junk found. While the prevalence of dumped coffee cups on streets remains high, there was a fall-off in disposable vape litter. The UK and Northern Ireland outlawed disposable vapes earlier this month and a ban here was likely in the coming months, Ibal said.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
Cork city centre has cleaned up its act, but parts of the northside are 'seriously littered'
Cork city centre has cleaned up its act but the northside of the city has become 'seriously littered', a new survey has found. Furthermore, it found that despite the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme for plastic bottles and cans, such waste is still visible in many parts of the country. Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) said more towns are clean now compared to last year, with the number of areas deemed littered or worse at its lowest in five years. However, while main streets are generally clean, litter is most likely to be found in residential areas, bus and train stations, and recycling facilities. 'It is particularly encouraging to see areas like Roscommon town and Mahon in Cork making the grade, having fallen short in recent years,' said IBAL's Conor Horgan. 'Another positive finding was that our main city centres — Dublin and Cork — have improved as we welcome summer visitors to our country. "Clean streets are imperative, given the challenges facing Ireland as a high-cost destination.' Rubbish on one of the paths near Sunvalley Drive in Cork's northside. Picture: Eddie O'Hare In top spot in the survey was Naas, followed by Ennis and Killarney. Other areas deemed 'cleaner than European norms' included Leixlip, Monaghan, Sligo, Tullamore, Waterford City, and Wicklow. 'Moderately' and 'seriously' littered areas On the other hand, places deemed to be moderately littered included the area around Dublin Airport, Limerick city centre, Fermoy, and Dublin city centre. The only parts of the country deemed seriously littered were Cork's northside and Dublin's north inner city. In the case of the northside of Cork City, IBAL said: 'By far the most heavily littered sites included waste ground at Fairfield Meadows, vacant site — North Monastery Rd, St Mary's Rd, and Gerald Griffin Ave, No.7 Pophams Rd, and No.39 and No.40 Cathedral Walk. The presence of four such heavily littered/dumped upon sites and the dearth of top-ranking sites will have impacted Cork north city's overall ranking. It was second worst only to Dublin's north inner city, with the survey finding black spots such as Spencer Dock and around the Royal Canal. Plea to Dublin City Council IBAL said a plan by Dublin City Council to eliminate bag collections is essential for this part of the capital to clean up its act. Mr Horgan said: 'Unfortunately, litter was everywhere in the north inner city, in stark contrast to the city centre just a few streets away. "The negative impact of waste collection by bags instead of bins appears greater than ever, with scavenging by gulls a persistent problem. We need the council to come good on its intention to convert the entire city to bin collection services. 'In addition, it is high time that appropriate legal changes were brought into effect to allow the council to pursue those responsible for littered basements, an age-old blight on our capital city.' One year on from the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme, IBAL said plastic bottle and can litter is down 50% on previous levels but such waste was still found in one fifth of the 500-plus areas surveyed across the country. Mr Horgan added: 'We hope the scheme will see the disappearance of this litter but statistics so far do not bear this out. "Cans and plastic bottles are far from a rare sight on our streets and in hedgerows.'
