Councillors urge action on Dublin’s horse poo problem
Dublin councillors have urged action on the capital’s issues with horse poo, which is sparking complaints from several streets in the Liberties and around the Guinness Storehouse.
Tabling a motion on the issue at yesterday’s South Central Area Committee meeting, Sinn Féin councillor Ciarán Ó Meachair said there was a “huge amount” of horse manure on the streets of the Liberties.
"You don’t really have to walk far before you come across it,” he said. “I’ve come across people dumping it as well in rubbish bags and just tossing it on the side of the street.”
Horse-drawn carriages have been a feature of Dublin streets for hundreds of years, and are today operated from two ranks in the city, on St Stephen’s Green and alongside the Guinness Storehouse at St James’s Gate.
Mr Ó Meachair said streets like Meath Street, Francis Street and Thomas Street were “full of horse poo every day” and urged the council to be more attentive in cleaning it up.
Chair of the meeting, independent councillor Vincent Jackson, said the council’s hands were slightly tied by the "archaic” legislation surrounding the carriages.
“Some of the stuff goes back to 1853, now in 1853 Queen Victoria was queen of England, and queen of Ireland by default. So, we’re working with legislation that’s way out of date,” he said.
Dublin City Council was regulating the trade from 2011 to 2018, when the the basis for their legal oversight of the carriages was in put in question due to the Victorian-era law.
It states that the responsibility for regulating the carriages lies with “a police force.”
As a result, the authority stopped issuing licences for horse-drawn carriages that year, and without updated legislation from government to address the issue since, the trade has remained in limbo.
Acknowledging the legal issues, the council said their waste teams were frequently cleaning the streets impacted by horse manure.
"I’m not sure what else we can do pending the legislation but I suppose we’re very active in the area for sure,” a representative said at the meeting.
Mr Ó Meachair’s motion, which passed, notes the “frustration” of the communities affected by the delayed laws, and seeks a “more proactive” approach from DCC towards the clean up.
"This Area Committee will also write to the Department of Transport to seek an update on legislation to give Dublin City Council the powers to make bylaws to regulate horse drawn carriages,” it read.
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said it “remains committed” to progressing legislation to replace the Dublin Carriages Act 1853, with the replacement bill listed on the government’s legislative programme.
They added that drivers of horse-drawn carriages are still required to comply with relevant road traffic laws, and other legislation on animal welfare must also be adhered to.
"In addition, section 33 of the Control of Horses Act 1996 provides that An Garda Siochána may compel individuals in control of horses to obtain necessary attention from a veterinarian if the horse is in pain, distress, neglect or is severely injured, diseased or in need of veterinary attention. Failure to comply is an offence,” they said.