Latest news with #IrishBusinessAgainstLitter
Irish Times
07-08-2025
- Irish Times
CCTV finally installed to catch dumpers in Dublin's worst litter black spot
CCTV cameras, due to be erected last January to catch illegal dumpers in Dublin's north inner city, have finally been installed. Dublin City Council last September announced plans to use CCTV to identify illegal dumpers for the first time in almost a decade. The north inner city is regularly ranked the dirtiest area in the State. Three streets in the area were chosen as pilot locations for the scheme: Belvedere Place, Sherrard Street Lower and Summer Street North. New CCTV cameras have been installed on three streets in Dublin's north inner city to catch illegal dumpers. Photograph: Olivia Kelly These streets, off the North Circular Road close to Mountjoy Square, are in Dublin's worst litter black spot, regularly cited as the State's dirtiest urban area by anti-litter organisation Irish Business Against Litter (Ibal). READ MORE The council had planned to install the CCTV last January, but the project was delayed after it emerged the cameras could not be attached to existing public lighting poles, as had been planned by the waste management division. Some cabling powering street lights also powered traffic lights, and the council's lighting section was concerned that vandalism to the cameras could 'knock out the traffic lights', Barry Woods, the council's head of waste management, told councillors earlier this year. New poles have instead been erected on the three streets and have been equipped with solar-powered cameras. The cameras have been switched on in recent days and are now 'fully operational', the council said. Signs warning that the cameras are in use for the 'prevention, deterring, detection and prosecution' of illegal dumping have been attached to each pole. Illegal dumpers face fines of €150 or up to €4,000 if convicted in the District Court. A new CCTV camera has been installed on Belvedere Place to catch illegal dumpers. Photograph: Olivia Kelly On Wednesday morning, the three streets appeared to be free of any obvious illegally-dumped bags or other significant signs of fly-tipping, although some litter had accumulated on Sherrard Street Lower in a gap between newly installed planters and the footpath. The council used CCTV a decade ago to combat illegal dumping, with significant success achieved in reducing litter levels. In 2014, it began installing CCTV at litter black spots, mostly in the north inner city, as part of a crackdown on dumping. It subsequently erected a poster featuring 12 dumpers with their faces blurred. However, the move aroused the attention of the Data Protection Commission , which questioned the proportionality of the scheme and the dumpers' rights to privacy. The commission in 2018 undertook an investigation of CCTV use by local authorities nationally and concluded that existing litter pollution and waste management law did not provide for using CCTV to identify dumpers. New legislation, the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022, amended the Litter Pollution Acts to allow CCTV use. The council spent two years working with various State agencies to develop a new scheme. Data-protection impact assessments were subsequently approved for the three pilot streets. Following the north inner-city pilot, the council plans to extend CCTV to bottle and textile banks, where there is a high level of illegal dumping, before considering some suburban areas for the scheme.
Irish Independent
25-06-2025
- Irish Independent
Man arrested after a number of locations in Westport defaced with graffiti
Locations in Altamount Street, the urban greenway and the town centre were among those defaced between 11.30pm Monday June, 23, and 1.30am on Tuesday June 24. An anti-graffiti project delivered by Westport Tidy Towns and funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development was also defaced. Photos of the damage have circulated on social media and have been widely condemned, with local councillor Peter Flynn branding the culprits as 'brain dead idiots'. Speaking to the Irish Independent this morning (Wednesday), Cllr Flynn said similar smaller incidents of illicit graffiti have occurred in the west Mayo town in recent years, but 'nothing as bad as this'. The Westport Tidy Towns committee have won several national awards for the upkeep of the town. The Clew Bay town also scored favourably in a recent Irish Business Against Litter survey. Westport Tidy Towns have already undertaken work to remove the paint 'We will not be deterred by wonton vandalism,' Westport Tidy Towns said in a statement on Facebook. An Garda Síochána Mayo described the vandalism as 'deeply upsetting.' 'Westport is well known for its long and proud tradition of being involved in the Tidy Towns - this is due to the strong community spirit and voluntary efforts of local residents, businesses, and those working with Mayo County Council who together - make our town a beautiful and welcoming place to both live and visit.' Anyone who noticed suspicious activity in the locality between the hours of 11.30pm Monday June, 23, and 1.30am on Tuesday June 24 is asked to contact Westport Garda Station by phone or in person. Gardaí are currently examining CCTV footage as part of their investigation. They have asked anyone with dashcam or doorbell footage captured when the alleged criminal damage occurred to make it available to them. 'Our message is very clear- incidents of criminal damage and anti-social behaviour of this nature, will not be tolerated, and will be fully investigated.'
RTÉ News
18-06-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
Naas named Ireland's Best Kept Town in countrywide competition
Naas in Co Kildare has been named Ireland's Best Kept Town, in a competition that spanned the breadth of the country. The town beat out competition from Carrigaline, Co Cork, Buncrana, Co Donegal and Derry, and received their award at a ceremony in Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park, Dublin. Now in its 30th year, Ireland's Best Kept Town is a countrywide competition that evaluates the cleanliness and presentation of towns, including public facilities, the outward appearance of roads and buildings and the quality of local wildlife. Each year, the winners of the SuperValu TidyTowns competition compete against their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Amenity Council's Best Kept competition. Naas also took home the gong in the Large Urban Centre category. The town is enjoying a good news week it seems, as it was also named the cleanest town in Ireland by the Irish Business Against Litter association, a title it has won three times since 2020. Buncrana in Co Donegal was named Ireland's Best Kept Large Town, which comes after being named Donegal's tidiest town in 2024 for the third successive year. Both Rush, Co Dublin, and Comber, Co Down were nominated in that category. Donaghmore, Co Tyrone was crowned the winner of Ireland's Best Kept Village category, beating out competition from Eyeries, Co Cork, and Riverstown, Co Sligo. Royal Hillsborough, Co Down was named the winner of Ireland's Best Kept Small Town category, coming out on top against fellow nominees Carlingford, Co Louth, Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, and Randalstown, Co Antrim. Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary, congratulated the winners of 2025 Competition, saying: "Now in its 30th year, Ireland's Best Kept Town Competition recognises the great pride people have in their own communities, both in Ireland and Northern Ireland". He added: "Investment in our communities through this wonderful competition reaps long-term rewards for all, as showcased by the winning groups here today. It is testament to how local volunteers take ownership of their local area and work to improve them, for now and into the future. "Being nominated for these awards is an achievement in itself. It is a recognition of the efforts made by volunteers and local communities in the SuperValu TidyTowns competition and the Best Kept competition in Northern Ireland."
Irish Times
17-06-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Naas named Ireland's Best Kept Town in all-island competition
Naas, Co Kildare, has been named Ireland's Best Kept Town, beating competition from Derry, Omagh in Co Tyrone, and Carrigaline in Co Cork in the large urban centre category. Towns and villages across the island were assessed on the level of public cleanliness and facilities, the outward appearance of roads and buildings and the quality of local wildlife. Earlier this week Naas was named the cleanest town in Ireland by the Irish Business Against Litter association, a title it has won three times since 2020. The survey, conducted by An Taisce, made reference to a 'spotless' Naas plaza and 'a much cared for' canal bank. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Ireland's Best Kept Town competition, a cross-Border initiative between the Supervalu TidyTowns competition in the Republic and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council's Best Kept awards. READ MORE Buncrana, Co Donegal, was named the island's best kept large town, beating Rush, Co Dublin and Comber, Co Down. Royal Hillsborough, Co Down, won the small town category ahead of Carlingford, Co Louth; Bagenaldstown, Co Carlow; and Randalstown, Co Antrim. Donaghmore, Co Tyrone, was named the best kept village – Eyeries, Co Cork and Riverstown, Co Sligo were nominees in the category. Winners were announced today at a ceremony in Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park, with Minister for Rural and Community Development Dara Calleary saying 'being nominated for these awards is an achievement in itself. It is a recognition of the efforts made by volunteers and local communities'. 'It is a testament to how local volunteers take ownership of their local areas and work to improve them,' he said. Doreen Muskett, chairperson of the Northern Ireland Amenity Council, said 'these competitions continue to demonstrate the great pride that people have in their communities, North and South, and the hard work that is carried out by volunteers'.
BreakingNews.ie
17-06-2025
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Dublin City Council vows to end waste collection via plastic bag in next two years
Dublin City Council has vowed to end collection via plastic bin bags over the next 18 months to two years. Although the vast majority of households use bins to collect their waste, some parts of the inner city continue to use plastic bags. Advertisement The situation arises because many of the small terraced houses and apartments in the area lack sufficient room for bins. As a result, they have been exempted from the requirement to use them. This week, Irish Business Against Litter revealed that Dublin's north inner city is the most littered area nationwide. This has been attributed to the continued use of plastic bags for the collection of rubbish. Dublin City Council spokesperson, Derek Kelly, told Newstalk Breakfast on Tuesday that all cities struggle with littering. 'It's not just the north inner city, there are other areas and other areas of the country that have similar issues,' he said. Advertisement 'What we need to be conscious of is, the public have to do their part too. 'The city council is putting significant resources into trying to improve the visual amenity of the city and tackle littering. 'We've recruited over 100 additional staff in the last 12 months to improve our operations. 'We're investing significant sums in a new, modern fleet which helps us wash and scrub over 27km a week of our city pavements - so, when people come into work in the morning, the city is as clean as it can be.' Advertisement Mr Kelly indicated that the city council does 'have a plan' to end the of plastic bags. However, he stressed it was not an 'easy task'. 'We are just ready to go on a pilot area off Grafton Street - there are 90 streets around Grafton Street,' he said. 'We have all the arrangements in place; we have two waste compactors that we placed at two strategic locations in that area. 'Customers of the private collectors will have a number of options for disposing of their waste. 'We do intend to move that throughout the city; we have an equally sized area in the north city, covering Henry Street, O'Connell Street, Abbey Street and the surrounds. 'Then we'll be moving further out into the suburbs and urban villages.' Mr Kelly insisted that the days of plastic bags on the streets of Dublin are coming to an end. 'We're all in agreement that the days of plastic bag presentation are ending,' he said. 'And it will be gone within the next 18 to 24 months.'
