Drones will help detect illegal bonfire material
By Aideen O'Flaherty
DRONES will be deployed by South Dublin County Council this Halloween in a bid to detect the illegal stockpiling of bonfire materials, it was announced at this month’s council meeting.
This is the first time the council will be using the newly-acquired technology to track the illegal stockpiling of bonfire materials in the county, and it will allow the local authority to provide evidence to its officers of stockpiling in areas where visibility can be difficult.
Last December it was revealed that the council had spent €87,000 the previous Halloween on plant, machinery and waste disposal costs, and payroll for staff working over that period.
The council recorded 388 bonfires in the county, and from mid-October through to Halloween the council was notified of approximately 300 locations where stockpiling for bonfires was occurring.
A substantial amount of waste was also collected by the council during the Halloween period, totalling 201 tonnes, 55 tonnes of which were bonfire materials that were collected by council staff and prevented from being placed on bonfires over the bank holiday weekend.
In the two-week period prior to last Halloween a total of 156 tonnes of waste was collected by council staff, and they estimated that the vast majority of this waste was materials intended for use on bonfires.
The council stated at that time that there was no provision in their budget for council-organised bonfires.
The council’s most recent statement about deploying drones to tackle the stockpiling of illegal bonfire material was made in response to a question that was raised by Fianna Fáil councillor Charlie O’Connor at the council meeting.
Cllr O’Connor was seeking information on the council’s plans to “combat the bonfire threat” this coming Halloween.
The council added in its response that they are expecting a large number of reports about the stockpiling of bonfire material, however it “will not be physically possible” for them to remove all reported bonfire material.
It was also noted that the council’s staff are only authorised to remove material from public land – priority will be given to the removal of material that is near residential areas, electrical wires or roads.
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