CITY Hall is to get tough on dumping at a fly-tipping site on the north side of the city by using CCTV to identify offenders and increase enforcement.

Fire crews were called out to tackle blazes at Ellis’s Yard, near Spring Lane halting site, again in recent weeks, prompting calls for more stringent measures to tackle the issue.

There were more than 90 call-outs to fires at the Ellis’s Yard site in 2018. The number of call-outs more than doubled compared to 2017. Almost €200,000 has been spent by Cork City Council on cleaning up the site in the last decade.

Councillor Ken O’Flynn (FF) has called for the illegal dump to be closed, while local GP and councillor Dr John Sheehan (FF) has highlighted the health risks to locals. 

The council’s director of environment, Valerie O’Sullivan, said a clean-up will take place, perimeter fences will be fixed and CCTV will be used to identify dumping culprits.

"Cork City Council has sought quotations for the clean-up of the site and it is envisaged that a site clean-up will begin in the coming weeks," 

Ms O'Sullivan said. "Financial assistance for the clean-up has been sought from the Department through Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities."

Ms O’Sullivan added the Council will repair security fencing on the boundaries of the site and utilise CCTV to deter future dumping of household waste on the site and for the gathering of information for legal proceedings against dumpers.

She said the Council will co-ordinate a “multiagency approach” to enforcement on the site and carry out “multi-agency site inspections”.