Fly-tipping and illegal dumping blight in west Clare

CONSISTENT fly-tipping in Kilrush and how to tackle it was discussed at the recent meeting of West Clare Municipal District, writes Conor Clohessy.

Councillor Ian Lynch commented on the frequent fly tipping and dumping that has become commonplace in Kilrush, particularly at the local bottle banks.

He also highlighted the difficulties surrounding installing CCTV to prevent such misuse of public facilities.

Councillor Lynch explained that the council sends teams to tidy up the bottle banks every Monday morning, where they regularly spend hours on end restoring the area to an acceptable state.

These outdoor crews are now subjected to exposure to household rubbish and clothing on a weekly basis.

However, the installation of CCTV has been prevented by concerns surrounding General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which protect a citizen’s personal data from being processed.

“The idea of you being a good citizen and going to the bottle bank, only to throw your rubbish on the ground to let someone else sort it out isn’t you being a good citizen.

“You are a plague on society, you’re costing a fortune and you’re ruining businesses’ reputation, to the point where the bottle banks could be removed because of laziness. They could be taken from people who genuinely care about the environment.”

Councillor Lynch emphasised that several persons have been caught “red-handed” by council workers from the environmental offices who are now monitoring the situation until the GDPR concerns can be settled.

Councillor Cillian Murphy supported his colleague’s remarks at the meeting, commenting that he has dealt with similar situations in his area of the constituency.

“What would amount to the contents of an entire house had to be removed by specialist contractors from the Cliff Road,” he said.

He also stated that the restraints under which the council operate regarding GDPR are very frustrating for many councillors.

Particularly in situations where workers are being put in danger and public funds are being wasted on the carelessness of the few.