FORMER Limerick Mayor Cllr Daniel Butler has once again brought the escalating issue of overflowing bins to the attention of the local authority.
This, Cllr Butler told the Limerick Post, follows a number of complaints from members of the public about the matter over the course of the last year.
“I have been raising this issue for over a year now, patiently working with Limerick Council but the situation keeps on repeating itself,” the Fine Gael man said.
“In Raheen and Dooradoyle, we see bins overflowing onto the ground with rubbish and on the dog fouling bins, overflowing with dog waste. This is both unhygienic and unsightly, and of course completely unacceptable.”
The issue of litter and dog fouling has been a hot topic of debate in recent times with Metropolitan councillors as dog poo becomes an all too frequent sight.
The issue of bins around the city centre was also recently raised with the increased use of the Three Bridges Walk bringing with it more rubbish and dog poo.
“While I appreciated recent efforts of the Council to empty these bins, for me, again, it should not take me constantly chasing them to empty these bins — one of which sits opposite County Hall.
“We need to see more regular schedule service in the area especially during the summers months where we have more people out walking and therefore more use of the bins.”
Cllr Butler went onto say that he has been informed that a key driving force for these issues is resources, as there seems to be a shortage of frontline staff to maintain the service.
“I understand further recruitment drives are underway and are needed, not just for Raheen and Dooradoyle, but for across the city and suburbs.
“However, I want to conclude that while I appreciate the Council’s efforts and assurances following discussions with them, there is responsibility on all of us. One issue is people using bins to dispose of household rubbish and if you see this can you please report it to the Council.
“The second issue I want to raise is that if the bin is full, don’t just put it on top of or beside the bin, please bring it home. It is your rubbish and therefore your responsibility. We all have a part to play here and we all have to work together to make our community a cleaner place to live,” he concluded.
