COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

QUESTION NO. 13

QUESTION: Councillor E. Tuffy

To ask the Manager if he can advise the Committee of the current ability of the Council to respond to requests from Residents Associations/individual residents in the Lucan EA to have dog fouling/litter signs erected on open spaces and greens in their estates, if he can advise further what options are open to residents, with assistance from the Council to provide such signs, if he will outline the sanctions implemented by the Council to counteract the nuisance and health risks of dog litter in public places?

REPLY:

The Council no longer erects signs regarding dog fouling in estates as they were considered to be an ineffective deterrent.  However, the Council’s Dog Wardens Service is currently placing stencils on the ground at the many entrances to the Council's parklands as a pilot initiative. The parks within the  administrative area of this committee e.g. Waterstown, Arthur Griffith and Griffeen Valley Parks will be prioritised for stenciling when the programme recommences in March .

Where complaints are received about dog-fouling problems in an area, that location will be added to that list of areas for inspection/assessment by Dog Wardens to see if it is suitable for stenciling should the pilot initiative be suitable for a wider roll-out.

Dog-fouling is an offence under section 22 the Litter Pollution Act, 1997, as amended, for which the person in charge of the dog faces a fine or prosecution if he/she does not immediately remove any faeces deposited by a dog in certain places and ensure that it is properly disposed of in a suitable sanitary manner.  The difficulty with enforcement of this particular section of the Act lies in getting witnesses to report that the offence happened and that an identified person is the person in charge of the dog.  Residents groups and/or individuals are urged to assist Litter Wardens and Dog Wardens in this regard.