This article is from page 10 of the 2008-06-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
ENNIS has been named the cleanest town in Ireland in the latest survey by the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) league.
Ennis has traditionally fared poorly in the survey. Last year Ennis fin- ished in 31st position. However, En- nis outperformed 55 other towns and cities surveyed in Ireland to achieve a status of ‘clean to European norms’.
Mayor of Ennis Tommy Brennan said, “We’re obviously delighted with the result, we are the cleanest town in Ireland having been castigated for so long by IBAL in the past.
“It just goes to show the benefits of partnership between Ennis Town Council, the tidy towns committee,
IBAL and other organisations. We’ve got to the top and hopefully we can stay there.”
Mr Brennan also paid tribute to the staff of Ennis Town Council.
“It’s a great boost for the entire town and for tourism in Ennis. A lot of credit must go to the cleaning crews of Ennis Town Council and especial- ly to Brendan Keogh and everyone working in the gardening section of the council. They have done terrific work, this year and every year, with such a small staff.”
In a statement, An Taisce said the result was a very positive develop- ment for Ennis.
“Ennis has seen huge all around improvements on previous IBAL anti-litter surveys and all of the sites
surveyed were ‘clean to European norms’. This is very positive for En- nis at this time of the year, as the tourist season beings to come upon us. Hopefully, the high standard can be sustained throughout the year. It wasn’t just the lack of litter, which set Ennis apart, but the way in which the environments are managed, eg planting, bins, benches. Credit is cer- tainly due to all responsible for this huge effort.
“While Killarney and Ennis can also claim excellent performances, the good news does not extend to all tourist centres,’ said IBAL Chair- man Dr Tom Cavanagh. “The cities of Limerick, Kilkenny and especial- ly Cork have slipped backwards, as has Galway to a lesser extent.”