Urgent calls for dog fouling bins along Longford's Royal Canal walkway

The “persistent problem” of dog fouling on the popular public amenity in Longford town has to be addressed according to one local authority member.

Councillor Gerry Warnock called for the installation of dog poo bins along Royal Canal Walkway.

The Independent representative brought up the issue at the May meeting of Longford MD.

Cllr Warnock says the bins at The Mall are an example of assisting dog owners to take responsibility: “It's a persistent problem on that walkway, we have the bins at The Mall and they work very well. We have to go through a rigmarole to get these bins for the Canal, even though there is a long established need for them,” he told the meeting.

Cllr Warnock said an information campaign is having no tangible effect: “I would like this message to go back to the Department loud and clear, we need these bins in situ asap.”

Senior Executive Officer Lorraine McKee explained the council policy: “The environment section say they will not put in the bins. They have a “bag and bin” policy. It's not appropriate to put in dog poo bins, it's national policy: any bag, any bin. The bins put in place in the past had to be removed because of domestic waste dumping.”

Cllr Warnock was unhappy with the reply: “We are trying to get up the league table in Tidy Towns, and yet the simple matter of installing two dog poo collection bins.”

Director of Services for Infrastructure, John Brannigan, outlined the council's actions: “We have sought funding for two bins, when these bins are full they send a notification to staff that they are full and need to be emptied. It's a more efficient way of installing bins. We have to wait for the outcome of that funding request from the department. We get the message you are giving loud and clear, you want to see bins installed on the Canal.”