‘Absolutely disgraceful’ - Waterford residents being ‘hit hard’ by illegal dumping

People in County Waterford are being “hit hard” by illegal dumping on their lands, a council meeting has heard.

The issue was raised by Fine Gael councillor Niamh O’Donovan at the March plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council.

Cllr O’Donovan said: “I’d just like to ask, is there anything we can do around fly-tipping and illegal dumping on private property.

“There are people out there who have been hit hard by illegal dumping on their property which they are constantly having to clean up.”

In response, Director of Services Gabriel Hynes encouraged residents to report any incidents of fly-tipping to the council.

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Mr Hynes said: “In relation to fly-tipping on private lands, it is the responsibility of the landowner to ensure that they clean up any fly-tipping that has occurred on private lands.

“Again, just to encourage people, if there is an incident on their lands, it is reported to ourselves.

“We’ll certainly carry out an inspection of what has been deposited to see if we can get any evidence to bring a prosecution.”

Sinn Féin councillor Joeanne Bailey also spoke on the subject and asked for a specific report to be compiled.

She stated: “Cllr O’Donovan, you spoke earlier about the dumping across your area and I have seen the increase also.

“I think we all have seen an increase in dumping. It’s absolutely disgraceful what’s going on in the city and county.

“Can we get a breakdown for our next meeting on what is being spent per area on clean-ups due to dumping?”

Cllr Bailey received no response from the council executive to her query.