Revealed – The six Wexford locations to get CCTV in effort to curb ‘appalling’ illegal dumping

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

CCTV cameras are to be installed in six separate locations across Co Wexford in the “next couple of weeks” after the local council finally received permission to erect them.

The cameras, which will be at Turret Rocks in Enniscorthy; the Tesco Bring Banks at Distillery Road, Wexford town; Priory Lane, New Ross; the Tesco Bring Banks, Gorey Corporation Lands; the Tesco Bring Banks, Hewittsland, New Ross; and the Bring Banks, Old Railway Depot, Wellingtonbridge, will be used to prosecute illegal dumping and, in the long-run, clean up what have become notorious blackspots for litter and waste.

Confirming that Wexford County Council was in the latter stages of what has been a lengthy process, director of roads Eamonn Hore said these six cameras would be followed by more in the coming months.

“We’ll start out with six and we will be adding more based on what we know and what’s suggested,” he said at the January meeting of WCC. “The first cameras are due to be installed in the next couple of weeks.”

While the addition of fixed cameras will prevent dumping in the aforementioned areas, concerns remain regarding fly-tipping on roadsides and ditches.

“Will we have a mobile unit operating at well-known dumping hotspots?” Councillor Pat Barden asked the director. “Already today I’ve had to report three different areas which have had serious dumping in them.”

He was supported by Cllr Jim Codd who said many homes had opted for a seasonal clear-out at the end of the festive period.

“After Christmas it was incredible the amount of dumping that went on, the old train station in Bridgetown had trailer loads of rubbish dumped in it. It’s gone to the stage where people don’t care if their names are in the rubbish or not. People need to see these prosecutions happening, that’s the only way we’re going to stop this.

"You could get a suite of furniture any day if you drove around the roads of rural Wexford.”

With free couches and armchairs available to anyone with suitable transportation, Cllr Jackser Owens reflected on a simpler, less affluent, time in Irish society.

“You couldn’t get a suite of furniture when we were young, now they’re throwing them in over the ditch,” he said sadly.

For those in search of suitable chairs, the road to Taghmon appears as good a spot as any.

"I was driving out to Taghmon,” said Cllr Catherine Biddy Walsh, “and I couldn’t not believe the amount of dumping in the hedgerows. When I asked the people in the village about it they said ‘ah yeah, that’s normal’. I was appalled by it.”

Addressing the possibility of mobile cameras, county secretary Michael Drea said WCC had to prove there was a need for this facility with cold, hard evidence.

“With regards to a mobile unit, we can’t just randomly use one, we have to substantiate it in advance with reported incidents,” he explained.

On a more positive note, Mr Hore reminded the meeting that Co Wexford’s performance in the annual tidy towns competition was improving on an annual basis with a variety of medals and awards presented to volunteer groups each year. While those groups quite rightly received praise from all within the chamber, Cllr John Fleming said he regularly chose to forego formalities and tackle littering head-on.

“I do it the old-fashioned way, I go through the rubbish, I have brought about 20 summonses and helped cleaned up many black spots. We caught one offender twice,” he noted.

Ultimately the goal is to prosecute those who dump illegally and to ensure their names are recorded on the public record, the latter of which can only be done by a court reporter present during the relevant hearing. And with so many obstacles in place for local authorities, Cllr Marty Murphy felt the scales were balanced a little unfairly.

“It seems the people dumping have more rights than those prosecuting them,” he said.