Upsurge in illegal dumping highlighted

The perceived upsurge in illegal dumping, fly-tipping and littering across the Ballyjamesduff Municipal District has been highlighted by local councillors.

Independent Cllr Shane P O'Reilly tabled a motion for discussion at the recent meeting of members elected to the Ballyjamesduff Municipal District area.

Requesting that additional funding and personnel for the environmental section be assigned, he said the number of bodies working had been halved, and those there "can't work 24 hours a day".

He went on to state that illegal dumping had reached "chronic" levels and Covid and its accompanying lockdown had done little to stem the problem.

Cllr O'Reilly went on to state there needed to be greater penalties imposed, that €15,000 had been spent clearing one illegal dump site. But when the culprit was caught and hauled before the courts, they received only a €500 fine.

"Litter is destroying our county and we need to come down hard on it," said the Mullagh-based representative, who is in favour of naming and shaming those collared for such offences.

"They need to see its a crime against the county, a crime against society."

Senior Executive Area Engineer John McGahern said the council has moved rosters around so that bin emptying could take place at weekends as well as weekdays in some areas, while additional funding had been allocated to Cavan in support of projects being driven by local Tidy Towns groups.

Director of Services for the area, Eoin Doyle, responded to the concerns highlighted by saying he would relay the comments to his fellow executive members around the time the budget is being drawn up, when a proposal for additional staffing will be considered.