Sinn Féin is expecting illegal dumping and litter to be a major concern in Ballybane after initiating a survey amongst its residents, and is calling for Galway City Council to take back control of refuse collection from private companies.
The neighbourhood, made up of both residential and light industrial districts, scored last in the IBAL (Irish Businesses Against Litter ) rankings this summer, attracting negative headlines across national media in 2022 and 2024 when it was considered a major blackspot.
Sinn Féin’s Galway City East representative, Councillor Aisling Burke, elected in May, has launched an area survey with her party colleague Mairéad Farrell TD after receiving feedback on the state of the suburb during the local elections.
“One of the key issues that has been raised has been the issue of dumping and littering; it is something that is causing an eyesore in the area and needs to be addressed. It’s not good enough for this to be ignored, we need to make sure that this matter is tackled,” she said.
Councillor Burke and Deputy Farrell intend to carry out the survey door-to-door, and advised constituents to telephone them, or drop into their clinic held on the first Monday of each month in the Ballybane Resource Centre if their home is missed.
The most recent IBAL survey reported that the levels of dumping at Ballybane Industrial Estate were high, with poor maintenance of communal areas. Ballybane village and the area around Ballybane Library were let down by the heavy levels of litter, some of which appeared to be “long-lie” rubbish, indicating long-term issues.
Mairéad Farrell TD said privatisation was a contributor to the problem.“I’ve always said that the decision to privatise the bins had consequences, and have firmly believed that dumping has gotten worse since they have been privatised. Sinn Féin [has] been clear that if in government, we would bring them back into the control of the councils. This I feel is essential.”
Ballybane residents wishing to take part in the area survey can telephone Deputy Farrell’s office on 091-865782.
