People ‘fed up’ as council pays €800 per visit to clean-up estate

The continued instances of illegal waste dumped at an estate in Tallaght cost the local council up to €800 to clean-up every time as residents feel “fed up” with the issue.

The repeated instances of illegal dumping at Montpelier Estate in Kiltalown cost the local authority between €500–€800 to clean up via their Public Realm department, as work continues to fight the problem in the area.

CCTV was installed in the estate in July 2025 for a temporary period of eight weeks and was used to record four incidences involving both Irish- and UK-registered vehicles involved in illegal littering and dumping activities.

The reintroduction of cameras is being considered “for a longer period” to help with the ongoing issue.

Reports made to the council from residents have decreased over the last two years, but Councillor Louise Dunne does not believe that that is the full story.

Cllr Dunne said: “That is not due to the level of illegal dumping. It’s just that the residents are so fed up and they feel that after well over a decade their complaints have fallen on deaf ears . . .

“. . . It states that it usually takes around 48 hours to remove illegal dumping and I will dispute that.

“I understand the level of illegal dumping there. The litter warden has to go out and investigate that but we know that they don’t believe [there’s] any kind of evidence there to say who’s dumping it, and then has to go to Public Realm to remove it.”

“However, when residents were reporting it, it took usually about a week for them to get a response and then it’s taken a lot longer, so it is often left there for weeks.”

T|he council used the recordings of instances from the temporary CCTV period to track down the registrations and obtained the identities of the Irish registered vehicle owners through the Motor Tax Office.

The Irish-registered owners were contacted with an invite to attend for interview under caution, “but as expected none showed up”, per the local authority.

Those with a UK registration were reported to An Garda Siochana for follow-up. An Garda Siochana subsequently reported that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency advised that the UK registration did not exist on their system.

The council noted that it “endeavours” to have the removal of dumped material in the county arranged within 48 hours where possible.

However, they added that this timeframe may not always be achievable due to factors such as the volume and nature of the waste dumped, site accessibility and the availability of resources or specialised equipment to deal with certain cases.

South Dublin County Council stated: “Despite these operational constraints the removal of illegal dumping is prioritised, and every effort is made to ensure timely removal within a 48-hour time period to maintain clean and safe public spaces.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.