Kildare households paying for illegal rubbish disposal

HOUSEHOLDERS in Kildare who pay money to those in illegal encampments on The Curragh to get rid of their rubbish are partly to blame for the recurring and growing problem these cause. 

That was one observation in a discussion at the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District on the inability of either Kildare County Council or the garda to deal with such encampments, which each year leave large amounts of detritus on the plains.

"If they are getting money like that, then they will come back every year," cathaoirleach Peggy O'Dwyer told the meeting. The matter had been raised in a motion from cllr Suzanne Doyle, asking that the council engage with the department of defence (DOD) and an Garda Síochána to seek an inter-agency response to the issue.

The official response to the motion was that Kildare County Council cannot take action on these encampments as they are not on council-owned land. Cllr Doyle noted that the council had expended a 'huge' amount of time and energy in compiling a plan to manage the Curragh, including consulting with the public. 

She questioned if the department of defence is the appropriate authority to manage the land, saying that the increasing level of the problem each year is simply not sustainable. 

She outlined as examples damage to sheep grazing areas and the effective loss of two greens on the Curragh Golf Club because of the activity.

Commenting on the official suggestion that the council can write to the department and the garda in relation to the matter, she said that any such letter should be addressed to government ministers, as there is a need for 'high level action' on the issue.

Supporting her colleague, cllr Tracey O'Dwyer said the problem was happening more frequently, citing a case where a local B&B has had to close for the duration when the encampment arrives. 

"When the garda go out, they have no authority because it is under DOD control," she said. "But the DOD has shown no interest in protecting the area, which is being destroyed before our eyes."

Cllr Chris Pender also supported cllr Doyle's position. 

"My concern is that the DOD has the responsibility, but it is councillors, the garda, and Kildare County Council who get it in the neck from the public when these encampments arrive," he said. 

But he also noted, as a council, that they had to be proactive about providing official transient sites.