THE final litter survey of 2020 by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) shows Ennis taking third place in the ranking of 37 towns and cities, behind Kilkenny, which took the crown for a record fifth time, and Killarney. For the first time in 13 years, fewer than half of the towns surveyed nationwide were deemed clean.
The An Taisce report for Ennis stated, “A typically strong performance by Ennis has placed it among only 4 towns to be deemed Cleaner than European Norms. Eight out of the ten sites surveyed received the top litter grade. Only Gort Rd Business Park was heavily littered. Both O’Connell Street and Abbey Street were pedestrianised, creating an enhanced shopping environment. There were some vacant / closed down outlets on Abbey Street but there was no litter directly associated with them. Other top-ranking sites in Ennis included Tim Smythe Park, Ennis Friary and Ennis Recycle Centre – not only were they very good with regard to litter but also well presented and maintained.”
In all, litter levels rose in 24 of the 37 towns and cities inspected by An Taisce at the end of 2020, resulting in only 17 being judged to be clean – a fall of over 25% on last summer and in sharp contrast to just 3 years ago, when 80% were clean.

According to IBAL, the survey results are consistent with a trend in recent years. “The decline in cleanliness is less a case of the poorer areas getting worse, but of previously clean towns slipping to littered,” says IBAL spokesperson Conor Horgan. “Covid is clearly a factor here, but we should never accept litter as inevitable. It comes down to people disposing of their waste without regard for their surroundings or their fellow citizens and it is entirely unnecessary.”