Thirty dog bags dumped on Waterford beach as council calls bin removal plan a success
The council say dog poo ins attract fly tipping while councillors say the bags are dumped anyway. Stock Image.
Thirty bags of dog poo were dumped on the slipway at Clonea beach earlier this month.
That is according to Councillor Thomas Phelan at the October sitting of Dungarvan-Lismore District Council.
The councillor said the decision to remove dog waste bins from some parts of the country had only resulted in the bags being dumped where the bins used to be.
“There were 30 bags piled up there when I checked this morning, and I don’t think it's good enough to wait for a culture change and leave no trace behind, even though that is the right thing and people should be doing.
"So can we get the dog bin back and cleared more frequently, particularly first thing on a Monday morning when the beach is busy over the weekend with dog walkers,” said Cllr Phelan.
In response, the Director of Roads, Gabriel Hynes said the opposite is true.
He said the bins seemed to attract fly tipping and removing them has been “successful”.
The council’s view going forward is to remove dog waste bags as well.
“It’s the same as speeding on West Street, people need to be responsible for their actions and be aware that when they go to a public area and leave that area as they found it,” said Mr Hynes.
On the topic of dog waste bags and at a time, the council is considering next year’s budget, Cllr Donnchadh Mulcahy asked that they change supplier.
He said the council was paying an “extortionate” amount for the bags.
Mr Hynes said the council spent around €70,000 on dog waste bags last year.
“Considering the number of licenses in the county, it is a significant amount of money per dog. We will certainly be discussing it come budget time, but our view would be reducing the amount of bags we are using,” said Mr Hynes.
