Council issued 417 fines for litter in 2014

A total of 417 litter fines were issued last year by Meath County Council, which spent €189,000 on litter control during the 12-month period.

According to figures released by the council, 317 fines were issued to individuals while 46 fines were imposed on business premises.

While prosecutions were initiated in 12 cases and 130 fines were paid in full, a number of fines were written off due to insufficient evidence while others were waived following successful appeals.

A number of cases were also carried into 2015 to facilitate further investigation by Meath County Council and, where appropriate, allow the council to gain commitments from witnesses that they would be prepared to testify in court, if necessary.

With more than €1.2 million spent throughout the county in 2014 on street cleaning services and a further €189,000 spent on litter control, Cllr Noel French has called for 'more stick and less carrot' when it comes to litter control in County Meath.

According to the Trim-based Fine Gael councillor, the county's roadsides are strewn with rubbish while the incidence of dogs fouling on streets is increasing.

'Dog fouling is a huge problem in public places in all towns throughout the county. It's both unsightly and unhygenic,' he said. 'I also walked the Athboy approach road to Trim recently and there was at least a piece of litter every metre that I walked.'

While he praised the efforts of Meath County Council and the Tidy Towns committees, Cllr French suggested that they would rather be engaged in enhancement programmes throughout the county as opposed to focusing on litter-picking activity.

'I am glad to see that there was a considerable number of litter fines issued last year, but I would like to see more issued and more brought to completion,' he said. 'We need to send a message that this is not acceptable.'

One of the priority actions contained in Meath County Council's Environment Department Annual Service Plan for 2015 is a major education and awareness campaign, which will highlight the environmental, health and economic impacts of littering and illegal dumping.