A Ballina woman was convicted of littering this week after being brought before Ballina District Court after a bench warrant was executed for her appearance.
Jennifer Maloney, 102 St Patrick’s Estate, Ballina, failed to appear at Ballina District Court in December and at that sitting Judge Mary Devins threatened that she would impose a custodial sentence on the defendant.
The charges were brought against Maloney by Ballina Town Council when evidence linking her to rubbish dumped at the Killala Road was found. Ballina’s litter/traffic warden Val Padden said that on June 17 last year he was alerted to dumping at Laghadawannagh. There was one bag of rubbish beside a gate and more strewn further down the road.
In December the court heard that Maloney was convicted for littering before. But at Tuesday’s sitting the court heard that the defendant does not have a previous litter conviction, but Mr Padden said that the woman had been warned several times by himself and his colleagues, over a period of five or six years, about her littering.
Maloney denied that she was ever given these warnings, but did admit that her partner had dumped the rubbish on the day in question, even though normally she brings rubbish on a weekly basis to the dump.
Judge Mary Devins convicted and fined the defendant €750 and ordered that €250 be paid by way of contribution to costs.
