Dún Laoghaire has been declared one of the cleanest areas in the country, according to the latest litter survey.
The Southside suburb came second in the final litter survey of 2015 conducted by Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL).
Three quarters of the towns and cities surveyed by An Taisce on behalf of IBAL were found to be ‘Clean to European Norms’, a fall of 15 per cent on last year.
Likewise, the number of towns deemed ‘Cleaner than European Norms’ fell from 17 to 12 per cent.
“After a decade of year-on-year improvement, it is disappointing to see the very high standards achieved by towns slip in a number of cases,” Conor Horgan of IBAL stated.
A positive finding of the survey was that the main footfall areas of Dublin City Centre such as Grafton Street and O’Connell Street are again clean, having slipped in the previous study.
But what sets Dun Laoghaire and other top ranking towns apart, according to the survey, is not just the lack of litter but also the presentation and maintenance of sites.
“Some of the very well presented sites included Eden Recycle Facility, DLR Lexicon and environs, and the approach routes from Salthill and Glasthule and George’s Street Lower,” the report finds.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council said it was delighted to see the town finish second out of the 40 towns and cities surveyed across the country – the suburb’s highest ever finish.
“The results of the survey show Dún Laoghaire was awarded the ‘Cleaner than European Norms’ classification by the judging panel and this provides further evidence of the council’s commitment to maintaining a clean county,” the council stated.
“The council currently employs 59 staff in our cleansing section providing services such as graffiti removal, support for community clean-ups, emptying of litter bins, street sweeping, weed control, gully cleaning and the removal of abandoned cars. Eighteen of these staff concentrate solely on cleaning the roads and footpaths throughout the county.
“Along with all of the other major town centres in the county, the streets in Dún Laoghaire are swept seven days a week, with a dedicated pedestrian green machine also working in the town on a seven day rota.”
Cathaoirleach, Cllr Barry Saul thanked the staff in the cleansing section for their hard work.
“It is clear from the judges’ comments that the works the council has carried out on projects such as the People’s Park, the Metals, Moran Park and of course the LexIcon have greatly enhanced the attractiveness of the town of Dún Laoghaire,” he said.
“The combination of this enhanced physical environment and the day-to-day cleansing operations have proved to be a winning combination. I would also like to acknowledge the commitment of the business community and residents of Dún Laoghaire in striving to keep the town litter free.”
Cllr Cormac Devlin (FF) also congratulated the borough on becoming the only town in Dublin to win an award in the annual survey.
“I am delighted that Dún Laoghaire has received the recognition that it has deserved after several years of hard work,” he said.
“Coming in second place out of 40 urban areas is a massive achievement. There are so many volunteers that must be thanked as they have worked tirelessly in keeping Dún Laoghaire clean over several years. The Trojan efforts of these volunteers have made this milestone for Dún Laoghaire possible. Their work with the local business community and the council street cleaning crews all made this possible. Well done to all those involved in achieving this remarkable result, not just for our county but for Dublin.