Calls for more fines to tackle illegal dumping in Cork

A CORK City Councillor has called for punitive fines to be enforced in a bid to deter illegal dumping throughout the city and county.

Damien Boylan made the comments following a recent incident of illegal dumping near the Waterloo tunnel.

“It is so disappointing to see and it is awful for the residents. This happened on a walkway which is very popular with locals out exercising. It is a beautiful place. There is such pride amongst the people in Waterloo.

“As a community, there is such unity. They do everything to make the place so appealing. It is so demoralising and upsetting. I can sense their frustration,” he said.

Mr Boylan more issues of illegal dumping than ever before are occurring.

“Lower Killeens is another black spot. The place is just riddled with dirt.

“It has got worse in recent months. The only way to deal with it is to give punitive fines and enforce strict control with strict regulations.

“It is a pandemic at the moment. It is so sad. The problem we face in Cork City Council is there is only one person going out looking at these incidents. This is due to budget constraints.

“If the fines are big enough and people are being caught on a regular basis, it could be self-financed going forward,” Mr Boylan added.

The Fine Gael Councillor said current regulations with regards to GDPR is hindering their ability to install CCTV in various black spots throughout Cork. Mr Boylan and his colleagues in Cork City Council will maintain the pressure he said.

“GDPR is hindering us because if we put cameras up, we have to have signs up letting people know the cameras are there. This will just ensure they will dump somewhere else and we won’t catch them. It would be great to put cameras up and nail them in the act,” Mr Boylan said.

“We will keep the pressure on the council. Their hands are tied in lots of ways unfortunately.

“We need to catch these people and make an example of them,” he added.

Cllr Boylan appealed for people to remain vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour.

“It would be great to appeal to these people to stop illegally dumping, but these people have no conscience. I can’t understand their mindset.”