This article is from page 10 of the 2012-04-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
ENNIS Town Council is considering the introduction of waste byelaws to combat the problem of illegal dumping around the town.
Councillors and officials are to meet with members of Clare County Council’s Environment Section to see if the byelaws could be introduced on a countywide basis.
It follows a motion submitted by Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn at yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council.
Cllr Flynn stated that household waste byelaws are needed, as nearly 50 per cent of Clare householders do not avail of a waste collection service. He told the meeting that the problem of fly tipping and dumping has become too prevalent in and around Ennis.
He said that 47,000 tonnes of waste are produced in Clare each year. Cllr Flynn added, “People should be responsible and should deal with their waste in a responsible manner.”
He said Ennis had been “badly affected” by fly tipping while dumping is “destroying” the approach roads into the town.
There was broad support for the proposal from all councillors present at yesterday’s meeting.
Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) described the motion as timely, adding that he had seen 80 plastic bags of rubbish in the garden of one house in Ennis.
Cllr Mary Coote Ryan (FG) said the amount of household rubbish being dumped is “shocking”.
Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) said that while byelaws might be necessary, the council had to be careful not to target people who bring their rubbish directly to the dump because they can longer afford to pay for a waste collection service.
Cllr Mary Howard (FG) said it is “dreadful” to see people dumping rubbish in fields and roads around Ennis. She suggested that in order to help people who can’t afford to pay for waste collection, the council should place public skips at locations around the town.
However there were objections to this proposal. Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said skips in town had previously become dumps.
Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said that while byelaws are a good idea, he was “wary” of the proposal. Cllr Brennan told the meeting that a lot of the rubbish dumping in Ennis, is not being done by people from the town.