We need to talk about poo in all its gory detail- Donegal councillor's views on tackling dog foul

A Donegal councillor says the time has come to have a hard-hitting and honest conversation about the reality of dog fouling.

Cllr Barry Sweeny (FG) didn’t mince his words when he raised the issue at the March meeting of the Municipal District (MD) on Tuesday.

“This is an ongoing issue but it is an increasing issue,” he said. “There are more dogs on our roads and footpaths now than there ever were. People during lockdown got dogs for company and as family pets. 

“We welcome dogs but it is important for people to know that the cute little puppy does its business the same as any other dog and it doesn’t smell of roses.”

The councillor added that there also seemed to be a lot more larger dogs out and about at the moment, with a proportionate amount of dog poo.

“Cleaning it off your child’s shoes, it is not pretty and it does not smell nice,” he said. 

Cllr Sweeny said that someone out walking with a pushchair, wheelchair or holding a child’s hand, had to be constantly on alert for dog foul.

“You are spending more time looking at the footpath than the environment around you,” he said.

Even more worrying are the health risks.

“It can be a serious issue, particularly with children,” he said.

“There can be eggs of a roundworm that can exist within the faeces that can be very dangerous.”

Cllr Sweeny acknowledged that there were a lot of very responsible dog owners. He also praised Donegal County Council and various community groups for their efforts in tackling the unpleasant issue.

However, he said that the time had come for a more hard-hitting campaign.

The councillor proposed a four-fold approach.

Firstly, from a health point of view he suggested: “Get the message out about worming in dogs. That will eliminate some of the risk of roundworm.”

He suggested that Donegal County Council could sell worming tablets at a reduced cost as part of an awareness campaign.

The councillor’s second proposal was also health based - to encourage people to wash their hands when out and about, perhaps going so far as to provide handwashing stations at public amenities.

The third strand of his approach was to impose on-the-spot fines, with litter wardens having a presence in dog foul black spots for a given period.

“It is all about perception and getting the message out,” said Cllr Sweeny.

His fourth proposal was to “arm ourselves with dog poo bags.”

He said that everybody who had a dog should have a pocketful of bags, as well as a bottle of water to help clean up.

“It is not always a nice clean poo so you need the water bottle too,” he said.

Cllr Sweeny told fellow members about a ‘golden poop’ award that he had made as part of a campaign in Ballyshannon. This was a light-hearted way of awarding people who were caught picking up their dog poo. He suggested that it could be rolled out on a wider basis as part of a media campaign.

Cllr Michael McMahon (SF) who is well-known for his work with Bundoran Tidy Towns seconded the motion.

He spoke of the issue of people thinking it was ok to leave dog poo in the grass in public places. 

“It happened to me while out helping with the Tidy Towns, going in with a strimmer and suddenly you are covered head to toe,” he said. 

“It is very unfair to expect somebody else to pick up your dog’s poo.”

He agreed with Cllr Sweeny that a major campaign was needed.

Cllr McMahon praised council and Tús workers for their efforts in cleaning up streets and public amenities.