Council to seek legal advice on showing CCTV of dumpers

Photo shows: The council has used modern technology such as drone cameras and CCTV to detect illegal dumping.

Westmeath county council is to seek legal advice on whether it can publish CCTV images on its website of people engaged in illegal dumping – although with the faces blocked out.

The move was agreed to by director of services, Martin Murray, at the monthly meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District committee.

The decision came after councillors present spoke of their frustration over the levels of illegal dumping in the county, and of the difficulty in letting the public know the extent of the war being waged on this problem by council staff.

Responding to “name and shame” calls by local councillors, Mr Murray stated that the council had been advised by the data commissioner that it is prohibited by law from following this course.

However, he continued, on account of the belief by councillors that such action might act as a deterrent, he said staff would ask about publication of the images captured by the surveillance cameras mounted at various illegal dumping locations.

Mr Murray added that a further difficulty was that many of those issued with fines for illegal dumping opted to pay the fines rather than to go to court, where they would be named publicly.

Leading the call to have illegal dumpers named and shamed in local papers and on the county council’s website was Cllr Ken Glynn.

“The question I would ask is, if someone is caught on CCTV and they are prosecuted, and that is put out there, can you name and shame the person? Because I think it’s getting to that,” said Cllr Glynn.

Cllr Glynn indicated that he was pleased with the success that had been achieved through the use of CCTV to counter dumping at Lynn and at Kilpatrick along the greenway, but said the ongoing litter problem was “so frustrating”.

“It seems to be a vicious circle,” he said adding that there are many who just don’t care. “They find a location and will continuously dump at that location.”

Cllr Glynn bemoaned the fact that the money spent on clearing up after the illegal dumpers was money that could be put into other areas of need.

Also frustrated was Cllr Andy Duncan, who said that if the council is not allowed name and shame offenders, could it at least publicise the CCTV pictures showing the dumpers in action, but with faces and car registration numbers blacked out.

Cllr Duncan also said greater awareness is needed of the fact that the public can take bags of rubbish to the recycling centres. “That’s still not known,” he said, adding that he had asked numerous people were they aware of this and not one single person was.

“The reality is that these people who are dumping are dumping out of meanness – it is not out of nastiness: it’s meanness,” he said, pointing out that if they were aware that they could dump the rubbish for perhaps €2 a bag, they might not dump it illegally.

Cllr Duncan added that it was costing the council a lot more to retrieve rubbish from ditches than it would do to pay for an ad in the local papers telling people how to dispose of the rubbish cheaply.

Cllr Denis Leonard said the key was “enforcement, enforcement, enforcement” and he agreed with Cllr Duncan that more work needed to be done publicising the bring centres and recycling facilities.

Also in favour of naming and shaming was Cllr John Shaw, who said those intent on dumping were going to byroads and side roads where they believed they would not be caught.

Cllr Aoife Davitt said she would like to see more time, effort and energy going into publicising awareness of recycling. “I do think larger fines would be a repellent for people also,” she said, suggesting that the fines should be as much as €150 in the cases of those dumping large items.

There was also a need to have more bottle banks, she said.

“I too have the same concerns over litter,” said Cllr Frank McDermott, who also saw merit in the suggestion that the CCTV pictures of illegal dumping be published on the council website, but with faces blacked out.

“I see no difficulty on the council’s website: ‘recent prosecutions ‘, faces blocked out. People will recognise their own vehicles quickly. I’d take my chances about prosecutions. Let whoever wants to prosecute Westmeath County Council go ahead – they are welcome to do it. But certainly we need some stronger method of control,” he said.

Cllr Bill Collentine admitted he wasn’t sure whether the correct approach was education or prosecution, and he said it was just a problem on country roads but also on the canal. He said he agreed with Cllr Duncan that more people should be made aware of the recycling services available.

The dumping problem was “widespread in the neck of the woods where I come from” said Cllr Paddy Hill, adding that it was impossible to catch the culprits.

He pointed out that if these people were prosecuted before the courts, they would as a consequence, be named. He also felt the rising cost of refuse collection was contributing to the problem and he was of the opinion that the county council should install more bottle banks and bins.

Responding to the points raised by the councillors, Mr Murray said that he believed 2019, had been “a record year” in terms of the Dept of the Environment’s spend on publicity surrounding the issues of waste and waste disposal.

There had also been the success locally in terms of so-called ‘amnesty days’ for paints and mattresses; and he said he took on board the members’ points in relation to the provision of additional bottle banks.

Mr Murray outlined the other measures the council takes in its bid to tackle the litter problem such as its promotion of the Green Schools programme, its use of social media, and its work with the Construction Industry Federation on the provision of permits for construction and demolition waste.

Cllr Denis Leonard suggested that a campaign be launched jointly by county councils setting out what the levels of fines are, outlining the recycling services, outlining the fact that most of the waste we are creating should not be there in first place.

“I think we should be looking front-end solutions: companies taking back their packaging and looking after the waste that is created and minimising waste so we don’t have the high costs Cllr Hill was talking about,” he said.

The sole Green Party member on the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District (MKMD), Cllr Hazel Smyth, has raised a question over the use of pesticides such as Roundup in the district.

Cllr Smyth said that when her Green Party colleague Cllr Louise Heavin raised a similar query in the Athlone district, she was informed that alternatives to Roundup were used, and wondered could a similar approach be taken in the Mullingar Kinnegad district.

The official written response from the municipal district staff confirmed that among the current products in use to ensure footpaths and roads are kept free from weeds are Roundup Biactive XL and POL-MCPA.

“Both products are approved by the Dept of Agriculture for weed control and are listed on the approved Dept of Agriculture PCS register,” the reply stated.

It went on to explain that “a competent contractor” is employed by the council to spray weeds in accordance with all of the appropriate requirements, including manufacturers’ safety instructions.

It continued: “the contractor is required to erect signage to inform members of the public that weed spraying is in progress”.

Cllr Smyth said there was a lot of concern about the use of such pesticides, and their potential environmental impact, and while she accepted these were approved for use, she appealed to have greener alternatives used.

Cllr Ken Glynn revealed that several constituents had raised the subject of pesticide use with him, and said he supported Cllr Smyth’s call to have alternatives used.

Responding, director of services Martin Murray agreed that the district could look at what other products were out there.

Trees

At the same meeting, Cllr Smyth asked what tree planting policy is in place for the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District area for the next 12 months, “particularly given the amount of free space in its ownership where tree planting could occur”.

By way of response, the MKMD replied that more than 100 shrubs and 60 trees were planted in 2018, and further tree planting is planned for 2019/20.

“These trees will be native pollinator-friendly species in line with Actions for Councils from the All Ireland Pollinator Plan,” the response concluded.

Cllr Smyth asked when it was intended to plant the trees, commenting that it would be “useful” to know this information.

“We don’t have an outline plan for replacement trees,” director of services, Martin Murray replied.

“What we do is we take on board councillors’ questions and queries raised throughout the year. Where we remove trees, we will replace them, but we wouldn’t plan out that far in advance.”

Asked by Cllr Smyth if it was it possible for councillors to make a submission on where trees should or might be planted, Mr Murray replied that it was.

The frustration of trying to exist without broadband is an everyday reality for enormous numbers of people around Westmeath, councillors complained at their most recent meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District (MKMD).

“This is something that just keeps coming up time and time again,” said Cllr Aoife Davitt, who had a motion on the agenda proposing that the MKMD write to the Dept of Rural and Community Development and the Dept of Education expressing the frustration of constituents and their families trying to access broadband in Mullingar, and its environs.

Cllr Davitt said whenever she asks the questions they go unanswered, but she is given a lovely map that she can look at but with no timeline on it.

Cllr Ken Glynn backed his party colleague, stating that there are people living “not two minutes out the road” who were unable to access broadband.

Cllr Paddy Hill admitted that he was surprised to find that availability in Mullingar can be as bad as where he lives, in north Westmeath.

“But just to let you know, we have practically no mobile phone coverage in the neck of the woods where I live – and Cllr [Frank] McDermott will verify that as well,” he declared.

He said that one day last week when he checked his message minder he had six missed calls. “It is diabolical!” he told the meeting.

Cllr Frank McDermott described what he has to do to get coverage to make calls: “it has deteriorated something shocking,” he said.

Cllr Emily Wallace said that at Gaybrook, where she lives – 8km from Mullingar – it is “a complete blackspot”.

A “serious issue” relating to speeding motorists exists at the Lynn area of Mullingar, Cllr Ken Glynn has claimed.

At the most recent municipal district committee meeting, Cllr Glynn asked that an immediate review of the speed limits be carried out between Lynn Cross and the R400. He said the speed limit there needs to be reduced in the interests of public safety.

“While it is only a mile and a half of road, it’s like a country road,” he stated.

By way of response, the executive stated that the matter could be considered by the elected members during the next countywide speed limit review.

“It is anticipated that it will be 2021 before such a review commences,” the written reply to Cllr Glynn’s question advised.

Hillside Drive

Another location identified by Cllr Glynn as being in need of attention was Hillside Drive. The Fianna Fáil man asked that the district committee include the provision of a traffic calming measure there in its next programme of works.

To this, the response was that there is a 30kmh speed limit in force there. “It is considered that future funding for Hillside Drive should prioritise the upgrading of the footpath,” the reply stated.

Cllr Glynn also asked that the verges along the Newtown approach to Mullingar be enhanced under the next programme of works. The written response was that the verges there will be trimmed in September.

The ratepayers of Mullingar should be entitled to one designated annual parking ticket apiece, a local councillor is arguing.

The official written response to the proposal made by Cllr Andrew Duncan at the September meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District (MKMD) was that the current parking bye-laws have a facility through which an application can be made by businesses for an annual permit.

Cllr Duncan said that businesses should not have to apply, but that named ratepayers – many of whom have endured rates hikes – should each receive a permit.

“If you add it up. It’s not going to cost a huge amount of money,” he said, adding that it would provide an incentive to retailers and businesses at a time when they are under pressure from many sources, including online sellers.

Director of services, Martin Murray, said it would be dangerous to link rates to any other schemes, such as parking permits schemes.

He reminded members that while they might say that ratepayers had seen their rates increase, overall the rates paid to the council were down due to the rates revaluation.

“The enhancement of the paid parking permits schemes could be looked at, if that’s what you want,” he stated.

This option would, however, reduce the income to the council, but he agreed to have staff examine the figures and the financial implications.

Westmeath County Council has undertaken to look at the land registry to check ownership of a piece of land near a housing estate that is currently not being maintained.

At the monthly meeting of the Mullingar/Kinnegad Municipal District (MKMD) . Cllr Denis Leonard asked that the MKMD take in charge or fence off the large grass area between the rear of Riverside estate and the Kinnegad Waste Water Treatment Plant.

The official written response to Cllr Leonard stated that Riverside estate had been taken in charge.

“However, the district does not maintain green areas but provide additional assistance through the Residents Associations Grants for large green areas,” the response stated.

Flooding

A request was also made by Cllr Leonard that the MKMD repair the large dip in the road to alleviate flooding at Lowtown, Coralstown. To this the response was that water cuts have been opened at the location in question.

The estimated cost of providing a footpath from the Inny Inn at Lower Coole past the last house on that road would be €22,500, Cllr Frank McDermott was told at the September monthly meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District (MKMD).

Cllr McDermott admitted he was surprised at the cost, and wondered if the stretch priced by the council was longer than he had envisaged – which was a distance of around 80m.

Director of services, Martin Murray, confirmed that was the case, and that the MKMD had actually priced a stretch of 150m.

Cllr Frank McDermott said he had been attempting for 15 years to have this work sanctioned, and he pleaded to have at least the kerb provided. He was supported in his call by Cllr Paddy Hill.

Mr Murray said the council had been asked to “prepare an estimate” and that’s what it had done: “If we’re going to do it, were going to do it right,” he said, stating that an application could be made for Clár funding for the work, or alternatively that it could be referred to the coming year’s estimates for consideration.

The state of a stretch of road between Killucan and Kinnegad has been “horrendous” at times in the last month, Cllr Denis Leonard told colleagues at the monthly meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District (MKMD) last Monday in Mullingar.

The problem had been particularly acute, he said, during recent heavy rain, which led to mud being dragged on to the road from a quarry.

Cllr Leonard was speaking on his motion calling on the MKMD to work with the quarry owners at Thomastown, and to enforce the need to keep the road free from wood and debris.

Cllr Leonard stated that he drives past approximately four quarries in County Meath every day on his way to work. “And you would not even know they were there: the road is clean outside them,” he stated.

The official written response from the MKMD was that the quarry was currently the subject of a warning letter issued by the council’s planning enforcement section.

A final decision has not yet been made on the new location of a bus stop in Rochfortbridge, it emerged at the monthly meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District (MKMD), held in Mullingar last week.

Cllr Emily Wallace asked that the MKMD update members on the future location of the bus stop following completion of the new housing estate.

The official written response stated that the council is awaiting a submission from the developers of the adjacent housing estate regarding the relocation.

At the same meeting, Cllr Wallace asked when Togher Boreen at Derrymore, Killucan will be resurfaced, and was told the work will be carried out “in the next two weeks”.

Ten community groups in Multyfarnham are to be part of a meeting between Westmeath County Council officials and representatives of the Public Participation Network to discuss a new bridge and walkway into the village.

The subject came up for discussion at the MKMD meeting on Monday last, in Mullingar.

Cllr Emily Wallace had a question asking for an update on what consultation has been held to date with the community in Multyfarnham regarding the proposed bridge design and the walkway. To this query came the response about the planned meeting.

Boundary issues at a couple of locations were brought to the attention of the executive of the Mullingar/Kinnegad district committee by Cllr Andrew Duncan at the September meeting.

He asked that the district examine the boundary between Ardleigh and Woodlands and carry out repairs to holes in the wall. To this the response was that the work has been done.

He also asked that the fencing between two houses at Oaklawns be repaired and was informed that responsibility for this shared boundary fence lay with the private householder in one of the houses and – as per the council’s ‘Tenant Handbook’ – the council tenant in the second house.

A third issue raised by Cllr Duncan was that of the tree outside 194 Dalton Park. The council response was that it will be pruned.