No fines for dog fouling issued in Athlone district

A local councillor has expressed disappointment that not one fine for dog fouling was issued in the Athlone Moate Municipal District in 2023.

At a recent meeting, Cllr Vinny McCormack asked for the number of dog fouling fines issued to pet owners last year, and was told the answer was none.

"I know it's very difficult to enforce and issue fines for dog fouling, but I'm disappointed to see we have none," the Fianna Fáil councillor commented.

Council management said it was "continuing to fight against dog waste, which is an ongoing issue nationally".

It said it had a number of initiatives in this regard, including "making muttmitt dispensers available to communities" and promoting "responsible dog ownership" in schools and community groups.

"We also monitor on an ongoing basis any initiatives taking place in other local authorities that might be successful in Westmeath," the council said.

A separate question from Cllr John Dolan asked how many littering fines had been issued and collected in the local district in 2023.

He was told that 14 fines for littering had been issued in 2023 and that, as of early January, nine of these had been paid.

"How does that compare to previous years? It seems very low to me," Cllr Dolan responded.

Acting district engineer Denis Sloyan agreed that the number of fines was lower than in some previous years, and he said this was because the council didn't have the use of CCTV to monitor littering offenders last year.

"The number of fines is significantly lower than when we had CCTV. There's no doubt that CCTV does lead to higher numbers," he said.