Four defendants were convicted of illegally disposing of their litter at Ballina District Court on Tuesday after an environmental enforcement officer from Mayo County Council was alerted to 22 and a half tonnes of litter strewn in Bonniconlon, which cost the county council €7,749 to clean up.
Liam Rabbit, EEO with the council, outlined to the court that after receiving complaints about dumping in the Bonniconlon area he inspected the site, which was located at the side of a public road, near bog land and on a walkway leading to a windfarm, on April 30 2008. The EEO said there was so much rubbish at the location that it could not all be sifted through, however evidence linking Mr and Mrs Paddy Joe Moran, 128 Elm Mount Road, Dublin 9; John Warnock, Bonniconlon Ballina; and Margaret Kavanagh, Glanree, Bonniconlon, Ballina, was detected at the site.
According to the EEO an envelope of Easter dues from the Church of Our Lady had the names of the Morans on it. With the assistance of local garda Des McCann, the EEO investigated if the defendants were local and was made aware that the Morans had a holiday home in Glenree, two to three miles from the site of the rubbish. A letter was sent to the Morans about the discovery of their litter, however there was no response from the defendants. The Morans, who were not in court, were represented by solicitor Ian Dodd, who said that they run a security business in Dublin. The defendants, who have no previous convictions, were fined a total of €1,750 between them by Judge Mary Devins. They were convicted and fined €750, and ordered to pay €500 towards costs and €500 towards clean up expenses.
Warnock was also convicted and fined the same amount by Judge Devins after evidence was heard that on the same date, in the same location, a medicine bottle belonging to Warnock was discovered. After being contacted by the EEO, Warnock contacted him to say that a man named “Michael” was paid €80 to dispose of his waste. Warnock, who was in court, said that he could have left his medicine bottle anywhere, but did not place it in the illegal dump.
The fourth defendant, Margaret Kavanagh, was not in court but was represented by solicitor Peter Flynn. The EEO outlined that on the same day a letter addressed to the defendant was found down the side of a couch which was also in the illegal trash pile. When contacted in regards to the offence, a letter was sent to the EEO from Kavanagh’s partner John Hastings. The letter, which was read out in court claimed that after buying a sofa from some Travellers, Kavanagh gave her old sofa to the Travellers and believed that it would be disposed of correctly. Kavanagh, who works in factory and has two children, was also fined €1,750.
