AN TAISCE HAS strongly criticised plans by Dublin City Council to withdraw street cleaning services in parts of the city where illegal dumping has been taking place.
The council has said that it plans to suspend street cleaning in parts of the north inner city as a result of people illegally dumping rubbish onto the streets which the council has hitherto been cleaning up.
The Irish Times reported that the council will target particular black spots in some parts of the city including Georgian areas by withdrawing street cleaning services for a week and allowing waste to build-up.
The council says it will then send out environmental health officers and litter wardens to remove rubbish and attempt to identify offenders and give out fines.
But in a statement a spokesperson for An Taisce, Charles Stanley-Smith, said: “This idea is insane. This area has suffered from dumping due to a lack of enforcement – yet the council now propose to effectively withdraw services altogether.
“As numerous studies such as ‘the broken window hypothesis’ indicate, where a small problem is left untackled it is likely to become far worse rather than better.”
An Taisce said there was nothing stopping the council from trying to pursue illegal dumpers on a daily basis and said that the announcement from DCC is an insult to law abiding people.
A statement added: “An Taisce fully supports the local community in their resolve to defeat the proposed measure, and will actively engage with other interested parties to ensure a successful – and sane – outcome.”
A Fianna Fáil councillor said that the decision by the council was “flawed” and “radically wrong”.
“This flawed decision has really hurt the city and left the city in a mess,” councillor Mary Fitzpatrick said. “In some parts of the city illegal dumping has escalated to the point of being out of control. Street cleaning is insufficient and fails to address the problem and keep the city streets clean.”
TheJournal.ie will cover the problem of illegal dumping in Dublin city in more detail this weekend
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