A load of rubbish! Furious councillor blasts small litter fines in Longford
“They’re letting them walk!” – Cllr Kevin Hussey says court is not a deterrent for illegal dumping. The councillor made his comments at a recent meeting of Longford Municipal District
A county councillor has described as “scandalous” the volume of litter left in the town’s Sunflower Playground, a purpose-built space that was designed for children of all abilities, including those with special and complex needs.
Litter in Sunflower Playground. Pic by Cllr Kevin Hussey
Showing photos of the litter to the chamber, Cllr Hussey described the scene he witnessed at the playground as “scandalous,” highlighting how rubbish was scattered across the ground and even being picked up by children. He went on to commend the community members who tried to manage the problem by hanging up bags on the fence as makeshift bins for waste.
In asking the council to reconsider his previously-refused request for a bin in the area, the councillor added, “I just feel if we can put a new bin on the Market Square then surely to God, we can put one in the playground where there's kids picking up this rubbish now?”
Cllr Peggy Nolan concurred with her colleague on the issue and lambasted those who left their litter lying around “a play area that was long and hard fought for and that a lot of thought had gone into.”
Litter in Sunflower Playground. Pic by Cllr Kevin Hussey
The issue of litter and illegal dumping was revisited later in the meeting, this time as part of a motion submitted by Cllr Hussey in which he expressed concerns about the ongoing failure to deter illegal dumping, despite multiple fines being issued. He argued that current on-the-spot fines of €150 were not sufficient, especially given the significant cost to Longford County Council in cleaning up the waste.
In calling on the council to establish a Town Pride Rapid Response System to address issues such as litter, illegal dumping, graffiti and minor public realm maintenance, he said, “The dumping at the minute has just gone haywire and the main reason why I'm bringing this up is because of what's happening currently on Dublin Street."
Cllr Hussey added, “You can head out the road and you'll see litter that was thrown out of cars into fields. Everybody can maybe make one mistake and get an on the spot fine of €150 but if someone is actively walking up onto the Main Street of the town and dumping four, five bags at a time, then they should be punished, but not with a €150 euro fine."
"It should be doubled if not tripled. Instead they're walking up into the court, they get their €150 fine, but it's costing Longford County Council thousands per year to remove this rubbish from all over the town and the fines are too small in my opinion.”
Councillor Seamus Butler seconded the motion.
In response, Senior Executive Engineer Peter Brady read out a response from the council’s environment section in which it was outlined that a proactive system was in operation for dealing with litter and illegal dumping, with all complaints logged, assigned to enforcement staff, and addressed as resources allowed.
He added that a total of 1,699 environmental complaints had been processed in 2025, and added that while on-the-spot fines were set at €150 by law, cases of non-payment or serious dumping could be brought before the courts where higher penalties and costs may be imposed.
Cllr Hussey pointed out that court action was not acting as a deterrent, with some offenders avoiding penalties. He said, “If you bring someone to court for non-payment of a fine, they will say something like, ‘sure be God, today hasn't been a good day’ or ‘I didn't have money and that's why I got rid of all the rubbish.’"
"It's up to the court to give a fine but the court is not doing that. They're letting them walk out the door and that's not good enough. It's costing us taxpayers and Longford County Council money and it’s not acceptable, so a full review should be done on that system as well!”
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