‘Serious litter problem’ on N18 according to IBAL

WHILE Shannon performed very well in the 2009 IBAL litter league, there was an early shot fired across its boughs, as the 2010 league was launched this week.
IBAL produced a litter report card on key tourist entry points and it found that the N18 (northbound and southbound) from Shannon Airport has a “serious litter problem”.
The assessors described the road as, heavily littered with large pieces of plastic, especially on central median and litter hidden by long grass.
While they were negative about Shannon, they found that the litter there isn’t as bad as at sites close to Dublin Airport, Dublin Port Tunnel, the Cork-Waterford Road and the Cork-Limerick approach road.
Mayor of Shannon Seán McLoughlin said that the comments have to be taken seriously and that the growing problem of litter has to be tackled.
“It’s fair comment. I brought it to the attention of the council in Shannon some months ago but the reply was that the money wasn’t there because of the effects of the cold weather and they couldn’t see how the money would become available in the foreseeable future,” the mayor said.
He said that various Cabinet ministers should come together to look at the maintenance of routes that are frequently used by tourists. “The Minister for Environment, the Minister for Tourism and the Minister for Finance should all come together and try to find the money to clean the national roads. Until last year, one of things tourists arriving would have admired would have been the cleanliness but now they’re talking about the dirt of the roads,” Mayor McLoughlin said.
Councillor McLoughlin said that people who are unemployed may be willing to take part in a litter-picking scheme.
Councillor Patricia McCarthy has also been vocal about litter and illegal dumping around Shannon and she said that the IBAL comments on the N18 reflect a recent decline.
“If there is any comfort to be taken from it, it’s that they didn’t find Shannon to be as bad as Cork or Dublin. But we do have to become more litter aware. Two years ago, there was no litter around the place but now you’d have to look to find any place where there is no litter. It’s just not good enough,” commented Councillor McCarthy.
She added that people have to be cautious about not polluting and that there is a need for relevant agencies to play their part. “A lot of it is plastic coming from heavy trucks and if something blows off, they have to stop and pick it up. The council and the NRA have to be dedicated because this is as important as keeping the roads free of water.”
Shannon was found to be clean to European norms in last year’s IBAL litter league but there have been numerous complaints about a perceived decline over the last number of months.