Litter louts should be ‘named and shamed’ – O’Looney

Kilrush residents who dump rubbish at the recycling bottle bank in Place de Plouzané (Brew’s car park) were described as lazy and irresponsible at last Thursday’s monthly meeting of Kilrush Town Council.

The matter was raised by Fine Gael town councillor Ian Lynch, who asked the council to review the management of the bottle bank during public holidays and at busy times of the year.
Councillors described how, despite some bottle banks not being full, empty bottles and assorted rubbish were dumped in the vicinity of the recycling facilities.
“It’s sheer laziness,” Councillor Paul Moroney commented.
“Some irresponsible people went up and threw toys and bric-a-brac all over the place,” Councillor Tom Prendeville claimed.
Councillor Liam O’Looney urged anybody who sees someone dumping to report the incident immediately.
“The only way to go is naming and shaming,” he stated. “If any member of the general public sees someone dumping, they should report it,” he added. He also described St Senan’s Terrace as “like a dump site”.
Councillor Prendeville suggested that Clare County Council may consider removing the bottle banks as part of their review, although he encouraged enhancement and not removal of the facility.
“I hope we don’t try and change things for the sake of it,” he said, before saying that the introduction of charges at Lisdeen dump and similar facilities countywide, had led to an increase in illegal dumping.
A suggestion that the bottle bank in Place de Plouzané be placed inside a perimeter, which could be locked at night, was deemed unworkable by Councillor Ian Lynch.
“They’d probably throw it (rubbish) at the gate,” he said.
Mayor of Kilrush Marian McMahon Jones said that while items were dumped at the bottle bank, the actual banks were not even full. “A lot of those bottle banks were totally empty,” she noted.
On a broader note, Councillor Lynch said that the town was strewn with litter for large parts of the Christmas period.
“I noticed an awful lot of litter in the town,” he said, before suggesting that this was an example of how badly the county council workers are missed when they are on holiday.