Council urged to clean up act on dog poo
A Kingscourt resident is crying foul on dog litter on footpaths and streets and demanding the local authority take action.
Local man Adam Sheenan noticed the scale of the problem in the local area over the Christmas holidays.
A time of year for spending with family, Adam and his children encountered multiple messes while walking to the playground and to Dún a Rí Forest Park. He raised concerns for public health.
"There's dog let-off all along the footpaths, it's been there quite a while," he said.
"It's the young kids that I'm more afraid for, it could cause blindness or illness similar to food poisoning.
"No one is cleaning it up," he said.
Adam contacted the local county councillors and TDs for the constituency to get the issue resolved.
He said it has been a problem for a year or more but "seems to have gotten worse".
"You can see from the photograph, there's lots of dog litter there and more everyday.
"Someone should be cleaning it up, Cavan County Council should have someone routinely going and cleaning the footpaths."
Fianna Fáil Deputy Niamh Smyth was among those to reply to Adam.
Having contacted Cavan County Council in relation to the issue, she said: "The dog warden is going out to investigate the situation and issue fines when appropriate. Can you please keep me updated on this ugly situation?"
Legally, if your dog poos in a public place, you, or the person in charge of the dog, must remove the poo and dispose of it in a proper and clean way. Otherwise, it is an offence. If your dog poos in a public place and you don't pick it up, you can get a €150 on-the-spot fine. If convicted in court, the penalty is up to €3,000.
Meanwhile, responding to the Celt on the issue, Cavan County Council said it has been made aware of an issue with regard to dog fouling in Kingscourt and is working to improve the situation locally.
A spokesperson for the coucil reminds: “Failing to clean up after your dog is an offence under the Litter Pollution Acts, and Cavan County Council’s Dog Warden and Community Wardens can issue a fine for dog fouling.”
Meawhile, in relation to the specific problem in Kingscourt, the spokesperson added: “The Dog Warden will investigate and issue fines accordingly where applicable. Cavan County Council’s Community Warden are also erecting more information signage and installing additional dog waste bins in problem areas to supplement the existing supply of bins throughout the town.
“Dog owners are reminded that, in addition to being against the law, failing to clean dog waste is harmful to members of the public, in particular children and wheelchair users.”