COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

QUESTION NO. 5

QUESTION: Councillor A.M. Dermody

"To ask the Manager to consider placing the anti-dog fouling stencilling along the path leading in the direction of Elkwood on Ballyroan Heights, this request comes on foot of repeated complaints from Residents in this area, concerning the numbers of people who allow their dogs to foul in the area and fail to pick up. Would the Manager consider locating a bin at or close to this green area.  For the avoidance of doubt the green area to which I refer is not the big green area between Knockcullen & Elkwood but instead is the small green on the right hand side travelling in the direction of the Elkood Green?"

REPLY:

Dog fouling is an offence under Section 22 of 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 to 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 the Litter Wardens and Dog Wardens in this regard.

The Council is engaged in a number of awareness campaigns aimed at the prevention and proper disposal of litter and dog fouling in particular. The 'Responsible Dog Ownership Programme' has been established to address the issue of dog fouling which includes pop-up stands, poop scoops and leaflets which are available on loan to schools, community centres and business to raise awareness of the importance of responsible dog ownership. The Enforcement & Licensing division is also sending out leaflets on responsible dog ownership with the dog license issued through its on-line service.

In our ongoing efforts to address this problem the Council piloted an initiative of anti dog fouling stencils throughout the Regional Parks in 2011. This programme will be extended to local and neighbourhood parks with a planned programme due to commence in April 2013.

The Council has a network of 600 street bins located throughout the county with a further 64 bins located throughout the parks; all of these bins will accept dog litter. The area identified will be investigated by the Council's Cleansing Crew to establish, the need or otherwise, for an additional bin at this location.

In addition the Green Dog Walkers initative will be launched at the end of April - this is a community based project highlighting the issue of dog fouling and promoting the proper way to clean up after your dog.