Councillors’ fury at poop bags on trees

Some dog owners who appear to be collecting their dogs’ poop in plastic bags are then just discarding those bags along the wayside – or even hanging them on trees, members of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad claimed at their April meeting.

The subject was raised by both Cllrs Aoife Davitt and Ken Glynn, who proposed that the district “once again” install a series of dog poop bins around popular walking locations across the town.

“Current council policy is clearly not working,” Cllr Glynn stated.

Cllr Davitt’s motion proposed that the district place a dog poop bin at the walk to the lake at Butler’s Bridge.

The response from the district to both motions said the ‘Any Bag, Any Bin’ approach has been adopted for the disposal of dog waste and that public litter bins are available at the entrances to the greenways and along popular walking routes in the towns and villages in the district area.

“In addition to the above provision, the installation of a limited number of dog litter bins at suitable locations on a trial basis will be considered,” the statement concluded.

Reacting, Cllr Glynn said that while he noted the response, he stood over what he had stated in relation to the policy.

If it was working, he argued, he would not have need to raise the same issue, and he said that there is a need for bins along popular walking routes such as Clonmore and across the Joe Dolan Bridge, or the C-Link Road, none of which locations have bins.

On the greenway, he continued, people are leaving bags of dog poop behind them.

“In my opinion, 95% of the people who walk their dogs are responsible owners, but there will always be someone who just won’t pick it up,” he said. Cllr Glynn said he had received commitments in the past that there would be bins provided, but that hasn’t happened.

“We are very lucky that our outdoor team do great work and the Tidy Towns do great work and we should be supporting their efforts,” he said, adding that there are stretches of four or five kilometres where there are no bins.

“It’s time for action – and stop telling me that our policy is working. It’s not,” he said.

In complete agreement was Cllr Aoife Davitt, who said that in the Lakepoint area there are no bins at all, never mind dog litter bins.

She said that while some dog owners do pick up poop, they may then end up having to carry it for five or six kilometres: as a result, she has even seen bags of poop left hanging on trees.

“We need to ensure that we do our bit to enable them to be responsible,” she said. Cllr Frank McDermott said the problem is not confined to urban walks and he asked that a bin be provided for the users of a 3.5km walk in his area. Cllr Denis Leonard remarked that millions are being invested in the Active Travel programme and on footpaths, and that bins should be provided, and also signage.

Director of services David Jones said the council are interested in assisting people in changing their behaviour, and the district will be addressing the problem over the next couple of months.