Sir, - Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) welcomed the litter legislation introduced last year as a step in the right direction. Though this legislation fell short in many ways of its European equivalent, our only expressed concern was that it would not be fully enforced. We played a leading role in the discussions which preceded the formulation of the new legislation. IBAL's membership includes many of Ireland's leading business organisations which came together just two years ago to voice their concern about the worsening litter problem in Ireland.
Our organisation believes - and two independent market research studies have borne this out - that there is a direct correlation between economic prosperity and cleanliness. The research studies further confirmed that Irish people believe the Litter Act should be enforced.
We believe that six months on, our concern regarding the non-enforcement of the 1997 Litter Act has proved to be justified.
Under the new legislation, local authorities are obliged to keep roadways free of litter. However, the anti-litter workload has been significantly transferred to property owners. Under the Act, they are responsible for keeping clean both the pavements adjoining their property and the visible areas between their property and public roads. The Act specifies on-the-spot penalties for those who litter and for property owners who are not attending to their areas of responsibility.
On enactment of the legislation it is the duty of the Government of the day to put structures in place to ensure that its enforcement is enabled. In the case of the Litter Act the implementation is largely the responsibility of the local authorities. Sadly, apart from tokenism, it is not happening except in a small minority of areas.
Should not the law of the land be enforced? And should it not be enforced uniformly? Irish Business Against Litter calls for action now. - Yours, etc.,
Chairman, IBAL, Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2.