Cork city’s North Side and Dublin’s North inner city have both deteriorated to the point where they are “seriously littered,” according to a new survey from the business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL). Dublin City Centre failed to meet the threshold by An Taisce inspectors for being categorised as clean by European standards. The latest survey, released today, also includes Ballybrane in Galway and Tallaght in Dublin as areas which were branded littered.
The An Taisce report notes that in North inner city Dublin, across all the sites surveyed, only two were judged ’clean’ – Mountjoy Square Park and the junction of Annesley Place and Poplar Row. This represented a “significant deterioration” on last year.
The report notes that plastic bags of domestic rubbish (which had been ripped apart with the contents strewn about) are contributing to the litter situation at some of the sites including Summerhill Parade, Mountjoy Square and Summerhill. The residential areas of Spencer Dock and Crinian Strand were not just littered but subject to dumping – as is frequently the case of these two adjoining sites. An Taisce also pointed to heavy levels of dumping at the basement of the former DID Electrical site.
It was noted that there had been a dip in the result for Cork Northside, where the situation wasn’t much better, with just four out of a total of 25 sites surveyed getting the top litter grade.
In the capital, St. Stephens’s Green Park, Grafton Street, Dame Street, College Green and the Garden of Rembrance all received a grade A, and were noted as being excellent with regards to litter, however 56 Parnell Square received a damning ranking of a Grade D+, with Parnell House and Dominic Street also noted as problematic areas.
The situation was significantly better across a number of areas, however, with the group stating that more towns are clean than last year, with the number of areas deemed littered or worse at its lowest in five years. Naas was once again top of the ranking of 40 towns and cities, ahead of Ennis and Killarney. Overall, two-thirds of towns were clean, which was up on 2024.
The An Taisce report for Dublin City Centre found that the environs of Dublin Airport, normally clean, were this time found by inspectors to be ‘moderately littered’.
Other areas which were found to be moderately littered included Navan, Longford, Fermoy, Ballymum, Dublin City Centre, Limerick City Centre, Carlow, and Galvone – Limerick City South.
Mullingar, Galway City Centre, Dun Laoighaire, Letterkenny, Westport, Ballybeg, Kilkenny, Wexford, Athlone, Cavan, Portlaoise, Tralee, Clonmel, Roscommon, Drogheda, Dundalk, Cork City, and Mahon in Cork City were all reported to be clean by European standards.
Naas, Ennis, Killarney, Leixlip, Monaghan, Sligo, Tullamore, Waterford City and Wicklow were in the top nine areas, branded to be cleaner than European norms.
“It is particularly encouraging to see areas like Roscommon town and Mahon in Cork making the grade, having fallen short in recent years, the IBAL’s Conor Horgan said. “Another positive finding was that our main city centres – Dublin and Cork – have improved as we welcome summer visitors to our country. Clean streets are imperative, given the challenges facing Ireland as a high-cost destination.”
Key points highlighted in the report included Dublin and Cork City Centres being regarded as clean for peak tourist season. However, the report cautions that “no progress is likely in North Inner City without a ban on bags.”Additionally, plastic bottles and cans remain, despite the Deposit Return Scheme.
Cork Northside, previously littered, fell to seriously littered, while DubIin’s North Inner City, also seriously littered, remains rooted to the foot of the rankings. Only 2 of the 25 sites surveyed in the area warranted a ‘clean’ grade – the lowest number in years.
Among the litter blackspots found were Spencer Dock, which suffered from dumping of household items; Dorset Lane, where large black sacks, a mattress and clothing items were strewn about; and the environs of the Royal Canal, where sacks of rubbish and other miscellaneous items, including some tents, featured among the litter.
Conor Horgan commented: “Unfortunately litter was everywhere in the North Inner City, in stark contrast to the City Centre just a few streets away. The negative impact of waste collection by bags instead of bins appears greater than ever, with scavenging by gulls a persistent problem.
“No progress is likely in the North Inner City without a ban on bags. We need the Council to come good on its intention to convert the entire city to bin collection services. In addition, it is high time that appropriate legal changes were brought into effect to allow the council to pursue those responsible for littered basements, an age-old blight on our Capital City.”
Dublin City Council plans to eliminate bag collections by the end of next year.