Council to increase monitoring of footpaths in parts of Cork city amid concerns over dog fouling

CORK City Council has promised to increase the monitoring of footpaths on Cathedral Rd, in Gurranabraher.

The council’s pledge comes following reports of continuous issues with dog fouling in the area.

The issue was raised by Sinn Féin councillor Kenneth Collins at a recent local area meeting.

Mr Collins called on the local authority to agree “to additional monitoring of dog fouling on Cathedral Rd, and additional footpath cleaning, to ensure this is not preventing people from walking in their local area”.

In a written response, the director of operations with Cork City Council, David Joyce, said the council was aware of the issues in the area.

Mr Joyce said, in the short-term, additional monitoring would be put in place.

“Cork City Council is very conscious of the shocking behaviour of a small number of dog owners in the city, who do not pick up the dog fouling left by their dogs on public footpaths and other public spaces,” he said.

“The council has strong public messaging in place around dog fouling and annually runs a number of awareness campaigns, especially with school children who are going to be the next generation of dog owners.”

Mr Joyce explained that the issue of dog fouling is a problem in many local authority areas, adding that the issue is not just restricted to Cork city.

He said it is something that has been extremely difficult to eradicate.

However, he committed to additional monitoring of the area.

“Responsible dog ownership is the only long-term effective resolution to this problem,” he said.

“In the short-term, Cork City Council will increase the monitoring of the Cathedral Rd footpaths,” Mr Joyce added.