A Ballyhaunis man who failed to dispose of a large quantity of household waste and old electrical appliances which had been piled up at the back of his house was fined €1,500 and ordered to pay €750 costs at Ballyhaunis District Court this week.
Des Hannick from Mayo County Council told the court that he called to the home of Patrick J Powers, Devlis, Ballyhaunis, on November 6 2008 on foot of a complaint from a neighbour.
He told the court that on his first inspection there appeared to be between 10 and 15 bags of household waste at the back of the house and he told Mr Powers to remove the waste and to provide receipts to Mayo County Council to prove they had been dumped in a proper way.
Mr Hannick said he called back to the property on March 3 2009 to see if the direction had been complied with, but on this inspection he found that the problem was much worse than initially thought. He told the court that briars and other vegetation had been cut back and he could see there were more than 60 bags of household waste and a whole host of old appliances like washing machines piled up at the back of the garden. He once again told Mr Powers to dispose of the waste and a warning letter was issued. Mr Hannick told the court that a Section 55 notice was issued by the council ordering Powers to remove the waste at a later date but nothing was done.
Mr Hannick then told the court that he called to the house on his way to the court on Tuesday morning and he could see that the waste was still there. Judge Mary Devins convicted and fined Powers, who was not present in court, €1,500 and ordered him to pay €750 in costs.
