A total of 82 dog fouling fines were handed out in 2022, according to data compiled by the National Council for the Blind in Ireland’s (NCBI) Clear our Paths campaign.
Dublin City Council issued no fines over the course of the year while Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council issued just one and Fingal County Council issued nine.
Figures for South Dublin County Council were “not provided”, the campaign said.
Overall, there were just 82 fines for dog fouling issued by local authorities across the State in 2022.
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The research showed 18 county councils did not hand out dog fouling fines last year – a majority of the State’s 31 authorities. This included Carlow; Cavan; Dublin; Donegal; Galway City; Kilkenny; Leitrim; Longford; Mayo; Meath; Monaghan; Offaly; Tipperary; Sligo; Waterford; Westmeath; Wexford and Wicklow, according to the NCBI data.
Kerry County Council had the highest number of fines at 27 and the council reported that there were two convictions related to those fines.
The NCBI said dog fouling was “a huge issue for people who are blind or vision impaired who use our footpaths daily”.
A recent NCBI survey showed that it was the third most frequent unexpected obstacle encountered by respondents.
Dog fouling causes a slip hazard and can also be distressing as white cans are often dirtied by faeces.
[ Dangers of footpath obstacles to vision impaired highlightedOpens in new window ]
However, enforcement was more stringent in relation to fines issued for vehicles parking on footpaths or otherwise illegally parked.
The NCBI said it learned more than 19,000 fines were handed out in 2022 for issues around street and inappropriate parking. Three councils – Cavan, Leirtim and Roscommon reported that they had not handed out any fines, while Mayo County Council said there were no fines handed out in the Claremorris/Swinford area. Carlow County Council said there are no fines issued but that four complaints about illegal parking resulted in the cars being moved.
The NCBI said a number of councils provided information about positive steps they have taken steps to curb the dangers posed by dog fouling, in particular.
These included Laois County Council giving out 96 mutt mitt dispensers to Tidy Towns groups, Wexford County Council providing free pooper scoopers and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council running a Green Dog Walkers programme.
Lord Mayor of Dublin, Daithí de Róiste, said people “need to work harder to keep our paths safe for people who are blind or vision impaired. It is important that we take an extra few seconds each day to ensure that our actions do not impact the ability of people who are blind or vision impaired to get out and about safely.”
Aaron Mullaniff, the NCBI’s chief services officer, of the NCBI said it was “impractical to think that wardens could observe every single dog owner who doesn’t clean up after their dog and then issue them with a fine”.
He said: “There needs to be significant effort from the public to clean up after their pets in the first instance. It’s imperative that we all work to make our footpaths usable for all members in our communities.”
