Dublin to clean up its act with an extra £3m to beat litterbugs

Dublin Corporation chose yesterday, the morning after the St Patrick's festival, to announce the "biggest clean-up of the city since the Vikings".

Launching the three-year campaign, the Lord Mayor, Mr Maurice Ahern, said Dublin city was free of litter within hours of the end of the festival on Sunday night, which pointed to the determination of the authorities to rid the city of the image of "dirty" Dublin.

In addition to the annual budget of £16 million, the corporation is to spend an additional £3 million - £2 million of it in the next 18 months - on more anti-litter measures.

The city manager, Mr John Fitzgerald, said the campaign, which follows a "hugely successful" pilot project in Dublin's north inner city, marks a point "when we stop talking about litter and put the resources into tackling the problem".

Mr Fitzgerald rejected fears that the new refuse charges for the city would make anti-litter measures more difficult and pointed out that fines of up to £1,500 could now be handed down by the courts on conviction of littering offences. The on-the-spot fines for littering had risen from £25 last year to £50 and there were plans to double the fines to £100.

The corporation will also use litter wardens to mount concerted operations to remove unauthorised commercial signs, regardless of the legalities of interfering with private property - a difficulty which has in the past allowed traders to get away with hanging commercial signs from "street furniture".

"We will take them down, and if they want us to give the signs back we will tell them where to get them. But we will also prosecute them for putting them up in the first place," said Mr Fitzgerald.

The main elements of the campaign are:

A progressive increase in the number of litter wardens. There were two in 1997, there are now 20, and over the next three years the number will rise to 32.

2,000 extra litter bins on the streets and all bins to be emptied when full rather than on a timed rotation.

Weekend and evening cleaning of suburban villages, such as Ranelagh and Phibsboro, in response to the trend of weekend and late-night shopping.

A new junk-collection service at least once a year.

Five new dedicated "response units" to tackle laneways, black spots and other areas where litter accumulates.

A service to collect household hazardous waste.

A continuing public-awareness campaign, including education and contact numbers for reporting, as well as commitments to resourcing and enforcement.