Councillors bin IBAL survey claims

THE results of the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey, which saw Ennis drop 15 places, have been rubbished by local councillors with one saying, “I don’t know what planet they are on”. Ennis’ town manager Ger Dollard has commented he is “baffled” by the results stating the town’s experiences with the nationwide survey “has not been good to say the least”.

The principal of Ennis Community College, which was criticised in the survey, has expressed his “surprise” at the results stating the school has a strong anti-litter policy.

Although Ennis held onto its Clean to European Norms status in the latest litter survey, it dropped to 31st place among the 42 towns surveyed. Ennis Train Station was the only one in the survey deemed ‘littered’, while Ennis Community College was also deemed seriously littered.

However, principal of Ennis Community College, John Cooke, reacting to the survey, said, “Generally, the school grounds are kept very well and our students are well taught in relation to keeping a litter-free environment. I have been onto IBAL and they told us the survey was carried out on a Saturday and the litter was mostly fast-food containers, which wouldn’t have come from the school but from outside. We don’t have a caretaker to pick up litter at the weekends and of course, it would have been picked up first thing Monday morning. I find the results very surprising and a survey carried out at a particular time does not give a perfectly accurate picture.”

At this week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Councillor Frankie Neylon commented, “I can’t understand how somebody can put a league like this together. I would like to know when the inspectors came into town and looked at it. I know there was a lot of activity at the community college with building and so on. Was that taken into consideration? the railway station is state-of-the-art and is used from 6.30am to late in the evening.”

Councillor Mary Howard added she Is also disappointed with the results. “I have worked with the outdoor team of the Tidy Towns committee and they work very hard. I don’t know what planet they are on or if they are confusing Ennis with some place else. The outdoor team of Ennis Town Council do fantastic work and the Tidy Towns. We should find out what date they were here, I never noticed any rubbish around the community college, it’s kept very well. They had some work done removing trees, maybe that’s when they came.”

Councillor Brian Meaney commented that while the results are disappointing, criticism should be accepted constructively. He pointed out that IBAL have no vested interest and the inspections are carried out by An Taisce. he added the results do not reflect the good work of the Tidy Towns.

He commented that he does not understand the criticism of the community college. However, he added, “Anytime they have been questioned about the survey, they are able to give empirical quantified answers. They don’t have a vendetta against us.”

Councillor Michael Guilfoyle stated he hasn’t been “too impressed” with IBAL’s results for the town over the years. Town manager Ger Dollard stated the results for Ennis have gone up and down on the IBAL list but the town has done consistently well in the Tidy Towns competition.

He added, “Hopefully this might focus some people’s minds. The two areas of concern are not dealt with by Ennis Town Council but I know anecdotally that Ennis is seen as a clean town.”
Mayor of Ennis Peter Considine stated the results are “hard to accept” for many communities who have been working to make the town look good and he complimented the work of the outdoor staff of the council and Ennis Tidy Towns.

In its report on Ennis in the IBAL litter league, An Taisce commented, “Disappointing – not as good as IBAL result in 2011 – Ennis just holds on to its Clean to European Norms status. There were just five top-ranking sites out of a total of 10 surveyed in Ennis – combined with two seriously littered sites, this puts Ennis in the bottom third of the towns/cities surveyed. The two seriously littered sites (Ennis Community College and Ennis Railway Station) put Ennis at the bottom of the Clean to European Norms category. The litter situation at Ennis Community College was a more long-term issue than that at the railway station. R469 Quin approach road had been a very poor site during previous IBAL Anti-Litter surveys – things were much improved this time around and hopefully, this upward trajectory can continue.”

According to the report into Ennis’ performance, the two sites deemed “seriously littered”, Ennis Community College and Ennis Railway Station, “put Ennis at the bottom of the Clean to European Norms category”.

There was praise for the Skehanagh Roundabout to Clareabbey Roundabout, with the report stating, “The overall impression created was very positive”. Also receiving a Grade A were St Flannan’s College, High Street, St Anne’s School and An Páirc off Quin Road. The Westfield to N68 junction was given a grade B, with the report commenting that the general presentation was good but it was let down by a scattering of loose litter. The R469 Quin approach road also received a grade B, stating, “There was a marked improvement at this site, which had previously been very poor, particularly by the river”.

The N18 Galway approach road was praised for its road surface, signage and road markings but the inspectors found overgrown grass and weeds harboured some litter, including a horse collar.