Clare County Councillors are calling on central government to provide additional funding to tackle a recent spate of illegal dumping and fly tipping.
It comes as new figures show less than half of all fines dished out for the offences here in the last five years have been paid.
587 fines in total have been issued in the Banner county for offences relating to illegal dumping and fly tipping since 2018.
The fines involve littering, waste dumping, illegal signage, dog fouling, presentation of waste and dumping at bring banks.
Residents in the South-East of the county are raising particular concerns over the impact of littering in rural communities.
Cratloe based Fianna Fáíl Councillor Pat O’Gorman claims perpetrators are taking advantage of the cover of night to dispose of their rubbish in secluded and wooded areas.
The enforcement of penalties is also proving to be a point of major concern for members of the local authority.
Despite having collected a total of €42,900 in illegal waste dumping fines over the previous five years , Clare County Council have only received payment for 50% of notices isssued in this timeframe.
Of the eight fines issued so far this year , the Council’s Waste enforcement team has collected payment on just one occasion.
Sixmilebridge based Fine Gael Councillor, John Crowe believes a joined up approach between concerned citizens , Gardaí and Clare County Council is needed to eliminate the issue.
You can listen to the full interview below.
