‘Forgotten’ Rathowen is left to deal with illegal dumping alone

The people in a small Westmeath village say they have been “forgotten about” since the redrawing of electoral boundaries put them in the Moate electoral area.

But one group who haven’t forgotten about Rathowen are the litter louts who sneak into the area and deposit all sorts of rubbish on a scenic byroad – most recently on Saturday.

“We are west of the Inny, and so we are in no man’s land,” says John Rogers, furious after yet another dumping incident at the weekend.

He claims locals who complain to the council get referred from office to office – and that staff are never sure which office has responsibility for the area.

“We’re like the appendix,” he says, explaining that some months back, after appeals to the council to remove a large quantity of waste dumped at Rathowen fell on deaf ears, a local person eventually had to take matters in his own hands and deal with the rubbish.

On Sunday of this week, locals were appalled to find that another dumper had been in the area.

“They left at least a good bootfull of what looks like the results of a Covid cleanout,” says John (see photos, right).

There was an old toolbox containing lots of nails; there was electric cable; household refuse, boxes, children’s toys.

“It’s all being dumped on a by-road just off the N4, a lovely scenic road that a lot of people use for walking,” says John.

At one point the road has two wide grass verges, with trees overhead forming what is effectively, John says, a “tunnel”.

That precisely is where the dumpers of Saturday night last deposited the contents of their boot, to the disgust of locals.

According to John, this is not the only litter problem with which the area finds itself contending.

“We seem to be one chip-bag away from the chip shop,” he says, explaining that take-away diners appear to open the windows of their cars at Rathowen, and toss the detritus in the air.

He is urging Westmeath County Council to support the community in its efforts against littering and dumping – and to ensure that when action is being taken on any front, the needs of Rathowen are factored in.