IBAL report not reflective of Longford's litter status

A Longford Tidy Town spokesperson says that Longford's tumble from eight position last year to 35 this year is not reflective of the ongoing efforts to maintain the county town by the local authority and volunteers.
Longford's dramatic fall in the latest Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) comes only months after the county town was vying for the accolade of the best kept town in the country.

The litter survey indicates that when assessed the town was 'moderately littered' and resulted in a 27 place drop in the overall rankings.
Michael Keenan of the Longford Town Tidy Towns committee says the IBAL snapshot does not give an accurate picture of the town: “It contrasts sharply with the fact that last October Longford won a silver award in the National Tidy Town competition. The reason is they pick a tiny sample and it is presented as the entire town.”

The report, which last year had Longford in eight spot, mixes the good with the bad. It notes there were three top ranking sites in Longford, and commended both the Recycle Bank at Market Square and Pig Market Lane.
The report, compiled by An Taisce, highlighted issues with the residential area of Congress Terrace, and littering in the planters on Market Square.

This is the first national litter survey of 2024 by business group IBAL. Mr Keenan says a number of considerations have to be accounted for when viewing Longford town's fall to 35 out of the 40 ranked towns and cities.
“The survey was carried out on April 12,” Mr Keenan said, “it doesn't reflect the current position.”
The Tidy Town volunteer believes Longford is in a better position than the IBAL report suggests: “We are disappointed, particularly in view of the enormous work done over the last number of months. The survey highlighted three locations, and while the assessment is accurate, it is not an accurate picture of the town in its entirety.”

Mr Keenan says Longford has made huge strides in improving its aesthetic: “The town probably looks better now, both from a litter and landscaping perspective, than it has been for years. There have been huge improvements.
The IBAL report identifies the residential area of Congress Terrace where it says the majority of homes were in “very good order” but noted there were “too many vacant / boarded up premises which harbored heavy levels of a wide variety of litter”. It noted that Market Square has attractive planting, but added they were “choked with litter”.

The Tidy Town Chairman says: “The issues that are highlighted in the report need to be attended to,” adding, “We've been asking Longford County Council to allocate more resources, so that these kinds of issues don't arise. We are hopeful they will take this into consideration when allocating budgets for the coming year.”
Set up in 1996, Irish Business Against Litter is an alliance of companies who emphasise the importance of a clean, litter-free environment.

As part of the IBAL Anti-Litter League, An Taisce monitors towns independently and in accordance with international grading standards.