Dublin City Council using drones to identify bonfire stockpiles in lead-up to Halloween
Dublin City Council (DCC) is using drones to monitor “known stockpiling sites” across the city for bonfire materials.
A report from DCC’s Halloween working group, made up of representatives from the public domain, community development and housing departments, along with gardaí, told councillors it was using “authorised drone flights” to monitor the city.
“This has proved effective in identifying large-scale storage in previous years,” it said.
Any identified material will be removed by the group in co-ordination with gardaí, with the public encouraged to report suspected stockpiling to the council.
Eight stockpiles have already been identified and removed by the group, which is expecting an increase in reports.
Along with drones, the council will use formal reports and anecdotal information to identify those hoarding material, with private contractors also brought in to support the council’s efforts on a local or out-of-hours basis.
Despite these measures, DCC’s community and social development officer for Cabra/Glasnevin, Debby Clarke, told councillors yesterday that stopping bonfires was a major task that would require co-ordination from the fire brigade, gardaí and community services.
When we surrender the space to the people who damage our community, that’s the problem I have
“It is a very complex issue to try and stop bonfires – it’s a huge culture in Dublin and Ireland, and it’s not something that can be tackled very easily,” she said.
Independent councillor Cieran Perry said he was more than aware of the challenges in tackling bonfires, having done so for more than 15 years.
“We were successful on a number of occasions, we’ve stopped the bonfire on Drumcliffe Road, we’ve stopped the bonfire in the Cattle Market,” he said.
“So it can be done with a bit of effort, but when we surrender the space to the people who damage our community, that’s the problem I have.”
Mr Perry said there was a lack of enforcement across the city when it came to the accumulation of bonfire material in certain areas, and added: “Anyone that travels through Cabra/Glasnevin will see people leaving bonfire material outside their houses, which is illegal.”
He said “it’s worth the effort to let people know and issue fines, and let people know there’s fines issued”.
The public are being encouraged by the council to report any stockpiling by email to litter.central@dublincity.ie.