COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE
Monday, February 22, 2016
MOTION NO. 1
MOTION: Councillor C. O'Connor
That this Tallaght Area Committee calls on the Chief Executive to present a report on actions being taken in respect of the litter problem in Springfield Estate, Tallaght, as detailed in recent correspondence forwarded to the Council by a resident of Springfield Estate and copied to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. Will he confirm efforts being made to deal with the problem and ask if this includes visits to the local Schools and will he give assurances in respect of the matter.
REPORT:
Generally, complaints received by a resident referred to in the motion in relation to Springfield appear to focus on an alleged failure / unwillingness of South Dublin County Council to maintain the open space of Springfield / Alderwood Estate and to tackle what has been referred to by a complainant as "an ongoing issue".
Details extracted from our scheduler management system for scheduled works from the 1st November 2014 to 22nd January 2016 and forwarded to the EPA on foot of a complaint highlight that the Council has undertaken extensive maintenance operations, including litter picking and community clean ups, on this green in Alderwood Estate and within the Springfield estate since November 2014.
As previously outlined, all complaints received are logged, investigated by our Warden Service and the material removed afterwards by our Public Realm staff.
In 2015, a total of 10 complaints (7 via phone call, 2 via Fix Your Street and 1 Elected Member’s representation ) were received in relation to illegal dumping to the rear of Alderwood Green. Two (2) fines issued following the identification of incriminating evidence which was found upon investigation.
Up to 12th February 2016, there had been three (3) complaints of illegal dumping received in 2016.
It is important to note that since November 2014 we have discontinued to undertake ad hoc clean-ups in Springfield, but rather include this area in our schedule for weekly checking and clean-up.
Our Environmental Awareness Unit is very proactive in the delivery of the Green Schools initiative and other Anti Litter / Anti Graffiti messages. Currently Anti-Litter workshops are taking place in schools this month (29 workshops in total, reaching roughly 900 young people with the Anti Litter message). Similarly, "Tackle Litter" and "Man with a van" adverts have been running in The Vue Liffey Valley and IMC Tallaght from 11/09/15 to 19/02/16.