COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, March 14, 2016
QUESTION NO.16
QUESTION: Councillor L. O'Toole
To ask the Chief Executive how many dog litter fines have been issued over the last two years per area and how many have resulted in successful payment.
REPLY:
Dog fouling is an offence under Section 22 of the Litter Pollution Act, 1997, as amended (the Act).
The Act provides that the person in charge of a dog is subject to a fine 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 the dog litter is properly disposed of in a suitable sanitary manner.
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. The Council continues to encourage residents groups and/or individuals to assist the Warden Service in this regard.
In 2014 three fines were issued, two of which were paid.
In 2015 five fines were issued, one of which was paid.
In the other cases, the fines had to be cancelled due to the unwillingness of the witnesses in question to attend Court.
However, it is an objective in the Litter Management Plan 2015 - 2019 to examine emerging technologies to deter incidences of dog littering and dog fouling and to promote targeted anti-litter and litter prevention campaigns, including dog litter.
Programmable audio messaging devices were piloted in late 2015 at three (3) locations across the County to deter dog litter which proved to be very successful. Accordingly, a rolling programme has been agreed for 2016 where these devices will be deployed at a number of locations which are considered suitable, in order to optimise the use of this technology and maximise its effectiveness.
A quarterly report on implementation of the 2016 Litter Management Action Plan will be given at Area Committees.