Judge applies letter of the law over littering

One letter found in two bags of rubbish illegally dumped in an estate in Ballinasloe was not sufficient to warrant a criminal conviction.

That was the ruling of Judge Deirdre Gearty at Ballinasloe District Court when an individual was prosecuted by Galway County Council for illegal dumping.

The court was told that two bags of rubbish were strewn around St Grellan’s Estate in Ballinasloe and when they were examined, a letter was found addressed to Christopher Delaney from 13 Woodlands Grove, Athlone, who was then prosecuted for the offence.

Despite the fact that the defendant did not appear and was not legally represented, Judge Gearty said that she could not record a conviction based on one letter.

John Glennon, a Community Warden with Galway County Council, said that he received a report of illegal dumping in St Grellan’s Estate on February 23 last.

He went to the scene and found two bags of rubbish on a footpath and some of the contents were strewn around the place.

On examining the contents of the bags, he discovered correspondence from a financial institution that was addressed to the defendant.

A €150 fine was then issued to the defendant for illegal dumping but it wasn’t paid. The Community Warden said that there was evidence in the other bag which related to a different person.

Solicitor Angela Casey for Galway County Council explained that this was regularly the evidence they used to bring a court prosecution for illegal dumping.

But the Judge said that the defendant lives in Athlone and there was no evidence to connect him to the Ballinasloe area or if he ever visited the town.

She said that if another letter was found in the other bag identifying the defendant, then maybe she would have convicted but not on the basis of just one letter. She proceeded to strike the matter out.