55 cases against people allegedly carrying out illegal dumping
By Aideen O'Flaherty
A LOCAL councillor has claimed that enough isn’t being done to tackle illegal dumping in the area, after South Dublin County Council released figures showing that 55 court cases were brought against people who allegedly carried out illegal dumping last year, and 34 of those cases were successful.
Ronan McMahon, a Renua councillor for Templeogue-Terenure, asked for a report on the outcomes of court cases that were brought against those who allegedly committed litter offences in the county, at Monday’s (February 11) monthly meeting of South Dublin County Council.
Rubbish dumped in the Dublin Mountains
In response, the local authority stated that of 55 cases brought by South Dublin County Council against people accused of illegal dumping in 2018, 34 were successful.
In total, SDCC was awarded €13,150 in fines and €7,492 for legal costs in respect of these cases.
Cllr McMahon told The Echo: “There has to be a deterrent, if people think that they can get away with illegal dumping then they’ll continue to do it.
“I don’t think enough is being done [about illegal dumping], we should be more vigilant.
“There’s still a lot of littering going on in the mountains and rural areas.”
Cllr McMahon added: “It should be easier to get people to court and to prosecute them.
“There should be a deterrent that dissuades people from even trying to attempt to dump waste.”
The council added that the fines imposed and costs awarded as a result of the successful court cases “are managed through the court system, and recouped to the Council when payment is made through the court system.”
