COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

MOTION NO. 8

MOTION: Councillor P. Gogarty

That this Council initiates a policy of penalising corporate landowners that own tiny sections of land in back lanes in Palmerstown where appropriate, taking enforcement action for any litter or public liability issues found following inspection.

 REPORT:

For point of clarification "closed off" lanes are not maintained by SDCC. 

Other laneways are scheduled for cleansing on a quarterly basis, and more often as required when reports of littering / dumping are reported.

Members of the public are responsible for keeping private property that is visible from a public place litter free.

All incidents of illegal dumping reported or detected in any area is investigated by the Council's Litter Warden Service and all dumped material is searched for evidence.  Where evidence is found, the appropriate enforcement action is taken under the Litter Pollution Act 1997, as amended. Increasingly, it is found that no personal information relating to polluters is contained within the dumped material, with personal information having been removed or shredded. 

As part of the Council's commitment to deliver on the objectives of the Corporate Plan 2014-2019 and Litter Management Plan 2015-2019, there has been an increased targeted focus on known litter generator areas. Similarly, there has been a raised visibility of our Warden Service through branded vehicles, and a number of structured routes have been identified for continuous patrol, as well as ad hoc patrols and investigations as required.

As always, the Council is grateful for assistance and support from local residents or others in their investigations of such incidents as they arise. In the absence of substantive evidence / witness statements and the presence of such witnesses in court it is not possible for us to bring successful prosecutions.