ENNIS, CO Clare, will be announced as Ireland’s cleanest town today in the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey while Tallaght, Co Dublin, comes in for harsh criticism as the State’s worst litter blackspot.
The first results for 2008 also highlight the heavy littering of supermarket car parks.
Almost 60 per cent, or 32 towns, achieved litter-free status in this survey, compared with a rate of just 7 per cent, six years ago.
An Taisce, which conducts the surveys on behalf of IBAL, surveyed 55 areas with a population of more than 6,000.
It was the first time that Ennis topped the league since it began in 2002.
It was followed by Greystones, Co Wicklow, Fermoy, Co Cork, and Portlaoise, Co Laois.
Dublin city was praised for having improved its ranking to 16th place, after languishing as a litter blackspot for many years.
However, neighbouring Tallaght was found to be the most littered area in the State and was one of three towns to be branded a litter blackspot.
An Taisce inspectors said it was “suffering from long-term neglect”, with several areas “in a terrible state”.
Local Fianna Fáil deputy Charlie O’Connor said the survey was “bad news for Tallaght” but it was clear that Tallaght did have a serious litter problem.
“I hope people don’t come out now and start criticising the survey,” he said.
“We have to do something really serious about this problem.”
He urged businesses, community groups, schools and South Dublin County Council to sit down together and come up with a plan to make Tallaght litter-free.
Roscommon town and Tullamore, Co Offaly, were also deemed to be litter blackspots.
Sligo town was found to be the most littered town in the State last year, but the town jumped to 15th place in terms of cleanliness in this survey.
IBAL chairman Dr Tom Cavanagh singled out the performance of Dublin in this survey and said that 70 per cent of tourists entered Ireland through Dublin so positive first impressions were crucial. “We speak constantly about how to protect our economic prosperity. Here is hard evidence of real strides to safeguard a valuable breadwinner,” he said. “It is now up to the citizens to play their part and keep their streets clean.”
Pat Cronin, head of waste management at Dublin City Council said the improvements had been achieved because city councillors had adopted a new litter management plan and new rosters had been introduced to ensure that adequate cleaning staff were on the streets throughout the day and night, seven days a week.
Dr Cavanagh also praised the performance of Killarney and Ennis but said the good news did not extend to all tourist centres.
“The cities of Limerick, Kilkenny and especially Cork have slipped backwards, as has Galway to a lesser extent,” he said.
While two thirds of sites in Dublin were “Clean to European Norms”, this was the case in only one third of sites surveyed in Cork city.
An Taisce found that almost half of all approach roads to towns were littered. “Just as Dublin is a gateway for visitors to Ireland, approach roads are the gateways to individual towns, creating an important first impression,” Dr Cavanagh said.
The inspectors were also critical of the high level of littering in supermarket car parks. Lidl, Dunnes and Tesco were all cited as “magnets for litter” in different towns.
Dr Cavanagh said litter laws required supermarkets and all businesses to keep the areas around their premises free of litter, but law enforcement was weak.
He said summer time presented a particular challenge because of the increase in visitors to areas where festivals and local events are taking place.
“It is too often the case that, when visitor numbers peak at seaside resorts and tourist attractions, cleaning levels are at their lowest due to staff holidays,” Dr Cavanagh said.
