COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE (1)

Monday, October 17, 2011

QUESTION NO.2

QUESTION: Councillor J. Hannon

"To ask the Manager to have dog fouling signs erected, as already requested by local residents association details supplied. (Woodlawn Park Grove letter 23/06/11)?"

REPLY:

The overall aim of the Litter Management Plan is to make South Dublin County a litter free County with the support, co-operation and involvement of the local authority, businesses, communities and individuals. The following five cross cutting themes underpin the individual objectives of the Litter Management Plan:- Prevention, Enforcement, Awareness/Communications, Partnership, Cleansing

Under objective 1 of the Litter Management Plan (Develop programmes on the basis of targeting the various litter categories, blackspots and illegal means of disposing of waste/refuse), the Council aims to develop a programme to deal with specific litter types of which Dog Fouling is specifically mentioned.

An anti-dog fouling programme has already been established by the Council which consists of a number of strands that combine to address the issue of dog fouling. The Council has a Responsible Dog Ownership pop-up stand is available on loan to schools, community centres, businesses and other venues to display. The Responsible Dog Ownership pop-up stand is aimed at the general public and will raise awareness about the importance of being a responsible dog owner and has lots of useful information on how to be a better dog owner including:  Dog Fouling, Noise Pollution , Dog Licences,  Identification of Dogs, Dog Control, Stray Dogs, Unwanted Dogs, Rehoming a Dog , South Dublin County Council Dog Pound.

Responsible Dog Ownership Leaflets and Poop Scoops are also available for distribution. All this information is currently on www.sdcc.ie and available to the public. Click here to see images of the Dog Ownership pop-up, Leaflets and Poop Scoops.   In addition a pilot anti-dog fouling enforcement stenciling initiative has begun in the parks around the County with the intention to roll this initiative out through out the County once the pilot has been complete.

Dog fouling and irresponsible dog ownership has become a major issue both locally in South Dublin and nationally and one of the traditional methods of dealing with it has been the provision of steel poles and signs with associated costs. Poles and signs of a regulatory nature are targets for vandalism and grafitti and also add to the cost of other maintenance programmes such as grass cutting and weed control. As a result, it is not proposed to provide conventional signage at this location. It is proposed to deal with the issue in association with the Dog Wardens and the Environment Awareness Officer. Measures to be taken will include targeted information provision through the Residents Association and local community groups. The path system will also be examined for suitablity for use of advisory stencils.