Longford public urged to take responsibility over littering

The scourge of casual dumping is apparent all across town, and Michael Keenan says people have to take action.

The local Tidy Towns group have instigated a number of targeted clean up operations around the town. One was in Fee Court area on the banks of the Camlin. The volunteers cleaned up litter, removed graffiti and painted a wall.

Shortly after the wall was once again vandalised: “A lot of hours went into that clean up. It is very disheartening for them. It is also very insulting for people who use the area.

“The council came back to me and said in the absence of evidence they can do nothing about it,” Michael said.

The Tidy Towns chair says the general public have a role to play: “The only thing that can be done is when people see it they report it to Longford County Council. They will either issue a litter fine or prosecute them in court. If people see this behaviour they should challenge them and say “this is unacceptable behaviour, would you mind picking it up and putting it in the bin”. We are very proud of our town and we should do that in a non confrontational way.”

Michael says the local authority also has a role to play: “There are a few areas which aren't cleaned on a daily basis. We are hoping the council will allocate additional resources in their budget next year to make more regular cleaning possible. There is a link between how tidy a place looks and how safe people feel in that area. It is about improving the perception of the town.”