Just 4km separate Galway’s cleanest streets from some of Ireland’s worst for litter, latest IBAL report finds
Much remains unchanged in the most recent survey published this week by Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL), with areas of Galway City ranking among both the best and worst in the country when measured against European litter standards.
Galway City Centre placed ninth out of 40 cities, up slightly from tenth place in June 2025, placing it alongside Wexford, Letterkenny and Killarney. No heavily littered sites were recorded in the city centre, and 15 of the 20 locations surveyed received a top litter grade.
Most individual areas within the city centre earned ‘A’ or ‘B’ ratings. The lowest grade of ‘B’ was assigned to the University of Galway, where inspectors cited an abundance of food-related debris along forward-facing entrances and within the Quadrangle.
The Greenway from University Road to O’Shaughnessy Bridge and the Eglinton Canal Walk also received ‘B’ ratings due to damaged signage, graffiti, and a high prevalence of alcohol bottles, cigarette butts and food packaging.
The report highlighted strong presentation in several key areas across the city, noting Glenard Park in Salthill, High Street—one of Galway’s main retail and tourist hubs—and the Galway City Library as particularly clean and litter-free.
In contrast, Ballybane continues to decline, dropping two points since earlier this year to rank 39th out of 40 cities and earning an overall classification of ‘littered’.
An Taisce, which conducts the surveys on behalf of IBAL, stated that while heavily littered sites were not widespread, “it was the dearth of top-ranking ones, i.e. just three out of ten surveyed.”
“The poorly presented sites didn’t get into this state overnight and have been highlighted in previous IBAL surveys,” the report noted. “By far the most heavily littered sites were Ballybane Village and Ballybane Industrial Estate, they have been subject to long-term dumping and neglect.”
Both locations received individual ‘D’ ratings, with inspectors citing persistent neglect and intentional dumping of food-related waste throughout the areas. This is not a new issue for the area as the litter problem has been highlighted several times in the past.
Galway City councillor Shane Forde called for CCTV in “key locations” saying “without proper enforcement, we are fighting an uphill battle."
"If even a small portion of funding currently allocated to projects such as the Castlepark-Ballybane Active Travel scheme, which residents did not want, was redirected towards community upkeep and amenities, I believe we could make real and lasting progress,” Cllr Forde told the Irish Independent.
Despite these concerns, the survey recorded a reduction in certain types of litter, including a 10pc decrease in cans and plastic bottles across surveyed sites. Overall, An Taisce reported a 60pc reduction in these items compared with previous surveys.