Louth County Council told to 'make an example of someone' to curb dumping on Racecourse Road

Louth County Council have been told to "make an example of someone" to cut down on illegal dumping at the Racecourse Road in Dundalk. 

The comments were made by Independent councillor Ciarán Fisher at the March meeting of the Dundalk Municipal District. 

Cllr Fisher said illegal dumping has returned to the Racecourse Road ever since CCTV which "temporarily stopped it" had been removed. 

He said the dumping into the waterways which feed into Dundalk Bay has made it into "one of, if not the biggest breeding ground for water foul in Europe". 

A spokesperson for Louth County Council said there are plans to reinstall CCTV to the road, but said it would just be a temporary fix. 

"We’ve been dealing with the environment section on that and they’re proposing to put those cameras back in there. But it’s a temporary fix, it doesn’t cure the problem," he said. 

Cllr Fisher said an alternative to CCTV may be to install an agricultural gate. 

"If the CCTV is going to be temporary, could we possibly look at putting in an agricultural gate. There’s only two houses beyond the pump where the dumping is occurring.

Maybe it's a case of working with the landowners and the homeowners and put a gate in, and give them an access key. Just make it a lot harder to drive down in the middle of the night," he said.

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The Independent councillor said the Racecourse Road is not the only location that is dealing with illegal dumping. 

"I really think we need to tackle it, we need to tackle illegal dumping at that location, but it's just as bad on the Newry Road. 

Domestic Stuff, Commercial Stuff, Engine Oil. I really think we need to make an example of someone to cut down on this as well," he said. 

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.