DUN Laoghaire has consolidated its position as one of
the cleanest urban areas in Ireland following the publication of the latest
findings of a major survey.
The seaside town was voted the fifth cleanest of 53
surveyed across the country by Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL).
Last year it achieved one if its best results in the
survey when it was ranked as ninth overall and found to be
“clean to European
norms
?.
Dun Laoghaire has again come in for much praise and
was described in the most recent report compiled by the national heritage
trust, An Taisce, on behalf of IBAL as
“the best large population centre in the
country
?.
Almost all the areas surveyed in Dun Laoghaire
including the Institute of Art, Design and Technology, York Road, George’s
Street Lower, Harbour Square and the approach from both Monkstown and
Sandycove, received a grade ‘A’ rating. Moran Park and its environs was the
only area that received a grade ‘B’.
“An excellent result for Dun Laoghaire,
? the report
notes.
“The approach roads were all top ranking with a noticeable improvement
along York Road. IADT Dun Laoghaire was included in the IBAL Anti-Litter survey
for the first time and it scored very well.
“Other new sites included Harbour Square, which was in
meticulous condition and the promenade at the pavilion with new
playground/outdoor seating – this was a very well presented site.
?
Meanwhile, Tallaght which has historically struggled
to achieve a positive rating in the IBAL survey, has failed to improve its poor
record and was ranked 47 out of 52 urban areas surveyed in the latest report.
The area was ranked 42 in the last survey carried out
in August, and was found to be
“moderately littered
?.
Meanwhile, Dublin City also registered a poor
performance in the survey and was ranked in 50th place. Although IBAL noted
that there was an improvement in city sites since the previous survey in 2011
it found that there were some
“really poor
? sites in
“very specific areas
?.
The report singled out several locations such as the
Iveagh Market, Dean Swift Square and several sites around Christchurch for
criticism.
“What all of these sites have in common is an air of
neglect and abuse – they didn’t get this way overnight,
? the report states.
“This is not just casual littering.
?
The Dublin City Business Improvement District (BID)
said it was disappointed by the latest survey.
CEO Richard Guiney said:
“The majority of Dublin’s
main tourist areas are recorded as clean. While there are areas outside the BID
that are regarded as unclean, we note again that these are mainly in private or
residential areas, for example, in basements where cleaning organisations
cannot access.
“It’s also important to point out that these surveys
are a snapshot of a point in time and are not representative of the true
situation on the streets.
?
A spokesperson for IBAL said the high footfall tourist
areas of the city, such as Grafton Street, were
‘Clean to European Norms’.
“Our issue is with the areas of the city centre where
residents of Dublin live, such as Sheriff Street and Smithfield,
? the
spokesperson said.
“These have been found to be littered.
?