The newly-elected mayor of Athlone, Cllr Mark Cooney, has described a report naming Athlone as Ireland’s dirtiest town as “at variance with the work of the Tidy Towns” and has rejected suggestions that the poor results were caused by cuts in funding.
Despite suggestions in the latest litter survey by Irish Businesses Against Litter (IBAL ) that many areas would suffer this summer as a result of a reduction in cleaning due to budget cuts, Cllr Cooney said he was not aware of any cuts in spending in this area.
“I am not aware of the council being curtailed in this regard. There are two hand carts in the town on a daily basis. Given the efforts of the council and the Tidy Towns committee, the report is disappointing,” said Cllr Cooney.
“We will have to look at whose responsibility the areas highlighted in the report are.”
The damning report from IBAL ranks Athlone as 60th out of the 60 towns and cities surveyed and names it, along with Mallow in Co Cork, as a “litter blackspot”.
“Out of 10 sites surveyed [in Athlone] there was just one top ranking site and four litter blackspots. Three of the four approach routes surveyed were litter blackspots – this was not just occasional and casual litter but a long-term problem which has clearly not been addressed,” states the report.
Sites named as litter blackspots in the report included the Dublin Road exit from Athlone West, the Roscommon approach road, the Tuam approach road, and Kilmartins roundabout, which was described as “a dumping ground”, “an eyesore”, and “a health hazard”.
Athlone’s ‘Main Street’ was the only area which earned the designation “clean to European norms”.
However, chairman of Athlone Tidy Towns, John Butler, said that while he would hold his hands up if he felt there was any justification in the report, the evidence was not there.
The former councillor is demanding that representatives from An Taisce, who compile the IBAL reports, meet with the council and the Tidy Towns committee to provide concrete evidence of their findings.
“I am not satisfied with this report. There is no evidence that the areas cited, such as Kilmartins roundabout, Kilmacuagh Avenue, and the Lidl carpark are major problems. They haven’t got any proper demarcations and don’t seem to know their way around Athlone. I would like to see their criteria for branding Athlone as the dirtiest town in Ireland,” said Mr Butler.
“There are four points in the report on the motorway, and only one in the town centre. They didn’t go near Athlone Railway Station, which was always described as ‘clean to European norms’. It is apparent they are going down back lanes looking for faults. They say they have evidence and I would like to see photos, dates, and times.
“I can guarantee that every area within the parameters of the town is free of litter, and any litter that does pop up in these areas would be fresh. We are picking up litter since March and the council has a sweeper working on a weekly basis. We have never been better prepared for the Tidy Towns adjudication.”
