Minister’s plan to nab dumpers

THE scourge of illegal dumping – as highlighted in recent editions of the Connacht Tribune – is now to be the subject of a new crackdown spearheaded by Environment Minister, Denis Naughten.

The Minister said that he was now launching a major new initiative to crack down on the ‘scourge of fly-tipping’ including covert surveillance and smart technology.

Minister Naughten said that while he had secured a budget of €2 million for 2017 for the recruitment of extra enforcement officers, the new crackdown would be funded separately under the Environment Fund.

“My message is clear – if you dump waste illegally, and blight our countryside and roads with filth you will be caught, and prosecuted. The use of smart technology will be able to identify those who engage in this deplorable practice.

“I am confident the new initiative that I am introducing will prove effective in both deterring and catching illegal dumpers and I am encouraging community groups across the country to come together to apply and benefit from it,” stated Minister Naughten.

Over recent weeks, the community in the Abbeyknockmoy area have come together to try stop the widespread dumping of waste in the local Abbey Bog.

Local people gathered last Sunday for ‘a walk in the bog’ to see at first hand the scale of the dumping problem that always worsens during the idle winter period.

The local action group now have a public meeting planned for Monday night next, March 6, in the Abbeyknockmoy Community Centre (8.30pm).

“We are asking anyone with an interest in trying to prevent this awful practice to come along to this meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend,” said a spokesperson for the group.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.