Litterbugs will be prosecuted after warning letters - Council

Dumping, littering, and dereliction topped the agenda at the July meeting of the Templemore/Thurles Municipal District meeting.

Councillor Sean Ryan inquired about the possibility of more “smart bins” across the District and the use of drones and extra CCTV to catch people dumping litter.

Senior Executive Officer Marion O’Neill said they had not heard any further information from the Department.

Other Districts have used spare funds to roll out smart bins.
Meanwhile, they will be putting up signage at Gortnahoe burial grounds as a back wall has become unsafe.

Councillor Seamus Hanafin raised the possibility of creating a list of derelict sites across the Municipal District. Cllr Eddie Moran said the graveyard in Borrisoleigh has been littered with rubbish.

The Council has begun going door to door in relation to households legally disposing of their waste.
A letter is sent to a suspected offender, then a second warning letter, then they are informed that there is a fine, and they will be issued with a fixed penalty notice.

“We give them two to three weeks to respond,” said Ms O’Neill. “We have a lot of cases going through the books, and we will be bringing certain offenders into the courts for that.”

On CCTV, Ms O’Neill said the legislation is now going through the final stages, after which it can be used as evidence. “But CCTV cameras don’t work in certain restricted areas. How do you identify the offender? It could be a minor. In cases where we were successful in prosecutions, it was through the car reg.”

Ms O’Neill said it’s “very hard” to successfully prosecute, even with CCTV, unless someone comes forward with a witness statement.

On dereliction, Ms O’Neill said they are working with the Housing Department. “There are no GDPR issues.”

Ms O’Neill said she would talk to Ruari Boland, Senior Engineer, about erecting signage in relation to dumping in Borrisoleigh graveyard.