COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, October 12, 2015

QUESTION NO.17

QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor

To ask the Chief Executive  to outline what plans he now has in place to deal with the menace of Dog fouling throughout our County and in reporting will he appreciate the concern of many communities in respect of this issue.

REPLY:

The menace of dog fouling throughout the county and the concerns of communities is widely acknowledged.

Section 22 of the Litter Pollution Act 1997, as amended, states:

(1)    Where faeces has been deposited by a dog in any place to which this subsection applies, the person in charge of that dog shall immediately remove the faeces and shall ensure that it is properly disposed of in a suitable sanitary manner.

(2)    Subsection (1) applies to a place that is –

                         (a)    A public road,

                         (b)    Land forming part of retail shopping centre,

                         (c)    A school ground, sports ground, playing field or recreational or leisure area,

                         (d)    A beach,

                         (e)    The curtilage of a dwelling the occupier of which has not consented to the 

                                presence of the dog in the curtilage, or

                         (f)     Such other place as may be prescribed.

 In summary under this section of the Act, the person in charge of a dog is subject to a fine of  €150.00  or prosecution if he/ she does not immediately remove any faeces deposited by their dog in certain places, and/ or if that person fails to ensure that their dog litter is properly disposed of in a suitable sanitary manner. 

However, the difficulty with enforcement of this particular section of the Act is the requirement for witness testimony, to report that the offence happened and that an identified person is the person in charge of the dog.   Therefore  South Dublin County Council urges and encourages resident groups and/or individuals to assist the Council in this regard by providing witness statements to the Litter Warden so that the appropriate enforcement action can be taken in accordance with The Act.

A number of successful initiatives have been undertaken to date and more are in examination / planned.

Dog fouling signage is erected in suitable and appropriate locations and a number of awareness campaigns regularly take place including the most recent as follows:

• Green Dog Walkers (GDW) information is provided to all dog owners at the time of renewal of dog licences.
• In June 2015, the Draft Litter Management Plan 2015 - 2019 was promoted, seeking submissions relating to all litter including dog fouling.
• In July 2015, an on line survery was promoted in an attempt to capture peoples attitude to litter, including dog fouling.
• On 12th August 2015, the GDW initiative was promoted in Corkagh Park, where a 'poo bag tree' was produced to highlight the bad behaviour of some dog owners who throw bags in trees and bushes and to promote responsible dog ownership.
• In September 2015, two events promoting the GDW initiative took place in Sean Walsh Park and Fettercairn Health Fair.

On 16 November 2015, a stand promoting the GDW initiative will be present at the Social Inclusion event, which is being held by the Community Section.

Following discussion at the recent Environment Public Realm and Climate Change SPC meeting a number of initiative for mitigation of dog fouling along the following lines are to be pursued which are expected to help raise awareness and further promote responsible dog ownership:

• A review is to be carried out of the GDW initiative in an attempt fo engage further with dog owners promoting responsible dog ownership.
• Pilot new approach to disposal of dog foul eg DCC initiatives
• Provision of  biodegradable bags with renewal / new dog licenses
• enhanced communication and awareness programmes
• Student  Entrepreneur project