Sir, – Your edition of December 24th published very illuminating tables of national costs of dealing with this service, highlighting that Dublin City Council (DCC) spends over €25 million a year on street cleaning ("Revealed: How much it costs to clean up Ireland's streets", News, December 24th). This article implied that careless littering is the significant cause of this expense, and while this is certainly a visible issue throughout the city, it is only part of the picture.
As I write this, I have noted that most of the street gutters, drains and footpaths in my area, Dublin 5, are blocked and strewn with last autumn’s leaves, twigs, some litter, and even weed growth. We often receive Met Éireann flash-flooding warnings, so why is this not addressed efficiently? I have also made representations to DCC in 2021 about reinstating vanished bus-stop litter bins, and failure to service overflowing existing bins. Commuters are not permitted to bring takeaways and beverages aboard, we are exhorted to use public transport, yet DCC leaves no choice but to leave them around bus stops. Is this a city-wide issue? – Yours, etc,
WILLIAM KELLY,
Dublin 5.