Two Dublin local authorities are among the eleven nationwide to have issued no dog fouling fines during 2021, according to figures obtained by the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI).
Dublin City Council and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council handed out no fines for the offence last year, while South Dublin County Council issued two fines. Fingal issued 15 fines, the second highest in Ireland only behind Kerry, who handed out 31. Cork issued seven fines, Cavan two, Carlow one, Kildare three, Galway County two, Limerick City & County four, Louth nine and Sligo one.
Clare, Galway City, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Tipperary and Westmeath joined Dublin City Council and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown in issuing no fines. Donegal, Laois, Longford, Mayo, Roscommon, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow did not provide figures on their dog fouling fines to the NCBI. Under the Litter Pollution Act it is an offence for a person in charge of a dog to allow the dog foul public spaces without removing and disposing of it “in a sanitary manner”. Local authorities have the power to issue on-the-spot fines of €150 while cases which go to court can see a maximum fine of €4,000.
