€1.32M clean up cost as Monaghan council adopts new litter plan

Councillors praised IBAL result

Dealing with litter cost Monaghan County Council €1.32M in 2025, Monday’s meeting of the local authority was told. The revelation came on the same day Monaghan was awarded second place in the national Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) rankings.

Just over two thirds of litter expenditure - some €1.04M – went on street cleansing operations, Niall Malone of the Council’s Environment Section told the meeting when presenting a new three-year Litter Management Plan to the members for adoption.

The local authority spent more than €100,000 last year on anti-dumping initiatives and clean-up operations in areas where fly tipping occurred. A total of 369 litter-related complaints – an average of seven per week – were investigated, including 34 incidents where wash from illicit fuel manufacturing operations was dumped.

As well as illegal dumping, significant issues with dog fouling, litter thrown from cars, cigarette and vape waste, and takeaway litter were identified by Mr Malone. He said the new plan will “focus on prevention, but with strong enforcement when required, and a key element will be community engagement”. The deployment of CCTV and targeted anti-dumping initiatives will support enforcement measures, Mr Malone added.

He outlined a new Green Dog Walker initiative to combat dog fouling in public spaces by encouraging dog walkers to clean up after their pets and carry extra waste bags to share with others, hoping this will “foster responsible dog ownership while promoting a cleaner and healthier county”.

While elected members accentuated the positives of Monaghan Town’s second place ranking in the latest IBAL League, and strong Tidy Towns performances across the county, several pointed out serious littering issues at some locations. Cllr Pauric Clerkin (FG) claimed there has been “a massive surge” in illegal dumping across the county, impacting areas like the scenic Sliabh Beagh. He said domestic refuse is also being dumped at bottle and clothes banks in Emyvale and Scotstown, where household goods, children’s clothing and cat food waste are among the items discarded.

“The Scotstown incidents make me particularly angry,” he stated. “A local priest told me there are rodents in the vicinity of the bring banks and he fears they will make their way into St Mary’s Chapel.”

Cllr Clerkin called on the Council to work with Comhairle na nÓg and other youth organisations to pilot anti-litter initiatives.

Mr Malone said Emyvale and Scotstown are among eight locations earmarked for the deployment of CCTV at bring banks in an initiative planned to run from July to October and currently at public consultation stage. Cllr Aidan Campbell (FG) highlighted a major issue in Castleblayney with postal litter accumulating at rented accommodation in the town, and instances of people using other's bins to deposit rubbish. “It is unacceptable if people are paying for their bins and someone else is using them,” he stated.

Sinn Fein's Noel Keelan asked what measures the council can take to determine how people dispose of their waste. “I know we are in a cost-of-living crisis,” he remarked, “but people have a responsibility to look after and manage their litter.”

Cllr Keelan suggested it is “time to bring out the big stick”. Acting Director of Environment Services Nial O’Connor said the Council will implement a pilot programme later in the year in areas where there are high numbers of people without bins. The local authority intends to compare customer lists from waste providers against their housing stock and investigate where necessary. Mr O’Connor pointed out that the council is empowered under national waste enforcement rules to “knock on doors” and ask people how they are disposing of their waste. In cases where people don’t own their accommodation, the council will send correspondence to landlords.

“Anyone who is a tenant of Monaghan County Council has to have a bin,” he emphasised.

The Cathaoirleach, Cllr P.J. O’Hanlon (FF) said the figure being spent by the local authority on dealing with littering is a phenomenal amount of money, equating to roughly €30,000 a week. There had been recent incidents arising from abandoned vehicles in Carrickmacross and he thanked the Environment Section for dealing with them.

On the positive side, Cllr O’Hanlon praised a recent event at the Íontas Theatre in Castleblayney which had demonstrated to him the strong environmental consciousness among the county’s national school pupils, who “have a passion when they talk about solving the litter problem”. Education is the way forward, he believed.

Cllr Raymond Aughey (FF) praised the Environment Section for an initiative they are undertaking with vintners in the county to tackle the "scourge" of vape waste on streets.

Mr O’Connor said €50,000 has been made available to the Council from the LEAF or Local Environment Action Fund for a new community grant initiative to be launched later this month (see the council pages for more).

Grants will support Tidy Towns and other voluntary groups to undertake climate action and environment enhancement projects.

The 2026-2029 Litter Management Plan was adopted by the Council on the proposal of Cllr Richard Truell (FG), his party colleague Cllr Clerkin seconding.