Zero litter prosecutions in westmeath last year

Not one single person was prosecuted for littering in Westmeath last year.
And of the 76 litter fines issued over the twelve month period, just 28% were paid. That equates to just 22 fines paid over the course of 2014, according to figures supplied by the council.

The shocking figures were revealed at last Wednesday’s Athlone Municipal District after Fine Gael’s John Dolan submitted a written question to discover the extent of prosecutions for dumping in the county. On receiving the figures, Cllr Dolan queried why so many of the litter penalties were not paid last year in Westmeath.

Director of Services, Barry Kehoe, explained that there 54 at €150 each that were not paid during 2014, and that could have been for a variety of different reasons; some would have been appealed, some of the notices would have come back undelivered and then, some people, would simply have ignored the fines altogether.

In the opinion of the assessor a court prosecution will not be brought against a person unless there is “significant evidence” and a good chance of securing a conviction, Mr Kehoe continued, saying that in the absence of that, be that evidence or witness statements, it will be a waste of council resources bringing a case to court.

A previous meeting of the district heard earlier this year that €1.74m was spent on litter prevention and control in the county last year including €380,365 in Athlone and surrounds, €759,990 in other parts of south Westmeath and €607,952 in north Westmeath.