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Council to get tough on litter
louts
22.09.11
WE NEED to get tough on
litter louts and crackdown with on-the-spot fines
and prosecutions; that’s the view of the Inishowen
county councillors, who were all of one voice at a
bi-monthly meeting in Carn.
Leaving or throwing litter in a public place is an
offence that can be subject to an on-the-spot fine
of €150 or a maximum fine of €3,000 if convicted of
a litter offence in the district court.
Councillor John Ryan said we need stronger
deterrents to stop those who continue to discard
rubbish here.
“You often see people firing rubbish, including chip
bags and bottles, out of car windows but we don’t
seem to be getting any convictions against them. Who
polices it?” he asked.
“We need to focus on these petty litter throwers
along the roads between our towns and villages.
Strong fines and convictions must be brought against
those involved to act as a deterrent to others,”
Cllr. Ryan added. |
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Inishowen county councillors want to
get tough on litter louts. |
Buncrana Mayor Nicholas
Crossan suggested that litter fines be decreased but
enforced widely and consistently across the
peninsula.
“Let’s make it on-the-spot fines of €20 or €30 but
make sure to convict everyone who throws rubbish,”
he said.
Fianna Fail Councillor Rena Donaghey revealed that
Tidy Towns members in Buncrana urged Environment
Minister Phil Hogan to increase fines for litter
louts. She said a recent dumping incident here was
‘disgusting’.
“Those people who dumped tyres at Mamore Gap are
disgusting. It was an unforgivable and unacceptable
act especially since there is a perfectly affordable
tyre recycling plant in Newtown,” she cautioned.
“We have covert camera across Inishowen but they
can’t be everywhere. I hope this isn’t a sign of
things to come I would appeal to whoever is behind
it to stop immediately,” Cllr. Donaghey added.
Confirming that the Council would crackdown on
litter louts, Water and Environment area manager Pat
Gillespie confirmed that fines currently tend to be
issued only to people who dump larger amounts of
rubbish illegally. (Inishowen
Independent) |
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