Fines for dog fouling could increase by 1,000% under new legislation introduced by Dublin TD Patrick Costello.
Not cleaning up after your dog would carry a fine of €1,500, a huge jump from the current €150, if the legislation is passed. However, there is effectively no enforcement of the current law with just one fine issued in the Dublin City area in the last three and a half years.
The Dublin-South Central TD said the hefty fine proposed would act as a deterrent to those who fail to "scoop the poop" as well as increasing Local Authority coffers to fight the blight of dog poo. The most fines issued by Dublin City Council in recent years was 78 in 2016 which equates to revenue of €11,700 under the current legislation.
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If this bill is adopted, those previous peak levels of enforcement would deliver €117,000 in fines which could be reinvested as seed funding for new poo prevention initiatives, the TD said. This would equate to c.€3.6million across Ireland’s 31 local authorities.
Deputy Costello said: “This is an issue which has blighted communities across the country for many years. Since I entered politics in 2014 dog poo has been the single most repeated complaint to me when speaking to constituents. It’s on their streets, in their parks and on the footpaths outside their local businesses.”
“Based on the lived experience of my constituents and people across the country, a cohort of dog owners are not deterred by the current fine for failing to scoop the poop. Not only is it gross but leaving dog poo on our streets and in our parks is a risk to human health, particularly for small children. Dog poo can contain harmful bacteria such as E-coli and parasites like roundworm.”
He added: “This bill is very simple, if enacted it increases the deterrent and incentivises a push by local authorities to crackdown on those who don’t clean up their dog’s mess.”
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