City Council vows to tackle litter problem

A LOCAL councillor has called for a deadline of St Patrick’s Day for Dublin to lose its

‘dirty old town’ tag.

Cllr Ray McAdam (FG) was speaking after the latest results in the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey showed that North Inner City and Dublin City ended 2014 in the

‘Seriously Littered’ and

‘Moderately Littered’ categories respectively.

The Anti-Litter League survey of 40 towns and cities is commissioned by IBAL and carried out by An Taisce. North Inner City finished in 39th place and Dublin City was 38th.
Despite this disappointment, North Inner City improved on its

‘Litter Blackspot’ category in the previous survey.

The An Taisce report cited North Strand, Jones Road, Dorset Street and Summerhill Parade as litter-free sites, but Sheriff Street, Poplar Row and Buckingham Street were seriously littered. The area around Seville Place was described as a litter blackspot.
Cllr McAdam said that while he welcomed the progress that has been made, there was still a lot of work to be done.

“Dublin City Council has adopted a targeted approach to the problem of illegal dumping in the North Inner City and this is clearly making inroads,

? he told Northside People.

“Cleanliness last year has increased by an impressive 30 per cent.

“I want to see this plan being rolled out more extensively across the entire inner city.

“I want to see dramatic improvements by the time we celebrate St Patrick’s Day, which will bring large numbers of tourists to the area.

“The days of Dublin being a

‘dirty old town’ should be long gone and are no longer acceptable.

?
Cllr McAdam said a co-ordinated approach between litter wardens and portable CCTV in blackspots have made a great impact but a number of

“shoddy areas still remain

?.

“We need greater engagement between council workers, community groups, residents’ associations and local public representatives to ensure everyone works together to clean up our streets and avenues,

? he added.

IBAL spokesperson Conor Horgan said it was the first time in the survey they found a marked improvement in the North Inner City. He stated that a threefold increase in litter-free sites could be a turning point.

“Dublin City Council made it clear some months ago that a concerted effort would be invested in cleaning up this area and the first fruits of that work are already evident,

? Mr Horgan stated.

“We look forward to Dublin Inner City being

‘Clean to European Norms’ in 2015, which would be a huge boost for our capital.

?

A spokesman for Dublin City Council said it particularly welcomed the marked improvement in the North Inner City.

“In addition, well over half the sites surveyed in Dublin City got the top litter grade,

? he told Northside People.

“Local authorities, with the help of communities, businesses and other stakeholders, have played a significant role in this.

“Dublin City Council runs many initiatives which have greatly improved cleanliness in Dublin, including the City Neighbourhoods Awards, several Adopt a Street initiatives and Dog Litter Awareness measures.

?

The spokesman said the city council was looking forward to continued improvement in 2015 and will focus intensive efforts on several areas, including the North Inner City. He said a key message would be that it is simply not acceptable to litter or dump on the streets of Dublin.

“The council will continue to work with businesses, communities and other stakeholders, including the St Patrick’s Festival, and is confident that visitors will have an excellent impression of Dublin during the festival in March,

? he added.

Dublin Central TD Joe Costello (Lab) said:

“That the two most littered areas in the country are right in the heart of the capital city is a sad reflection on the approach to urban development in recent decades by the local authority and the various Government

‘Celtic Tiger’ tax incentive schemes that focused on property rather than people.

“Now with the major development of a new Technological College (DIT) in Grangegorman, and with NAMA about to spend in the region of

?¬1 billion on a new phase of Dockland development in Dublin 1, it is essential that the people of the North Inner City are not left behind again and that areas that have been allowed to become rundown are renewed.

?

Meanwhile, there was better news for Swords and the Dublin Airport Environs, which were both judged to be

‘Cleaner than European Norms’, and finished 14th and 17th respectively in the table.

Chief executive of Fingal County Council, Paul Reid, said they were pleased with the

“excellent

? results.

“We will continue to work with Tidy Towns groups and businesses across the county to keep Fingal clean and to promote it as an attractive place to live, work, visit and do business,

? he said.