Enniscorthy Tidy Towns Call for Action to Tackle Severe Illegal Dumping

Enniscorthy Tidy Towns have issued an urgent call for action following the discovery of one of the worst cases of illegal dumping ever seen at Brownswood, near the entrance to Meanscoil Garman. The group shared a distressing video highlighting the scale of the problem, showing a large pile of rubbish including clothing, bedding and a child’s car seat discarded carelessly at the roadside. In an area where a CCTV sign clearly warns against illegal dumping this egregious act of fly-tipping shows that current measures are insufficient in deterring offenders. The disturbing footage shows more than ten bags of rubbish strewn across the area with further dumping visible further down the road. The waste, including dirty nappies is now attracting rats further compounding the environmental and health hazards caused by such reckless behaviour. According to Enniscorthy Tidy Towns, the issue is widespread, with similar dumping incidents being reported in other areas of the district in recent weeks. Enniscorthy Councillor Barbara Anne Murphy spoke with South East Radio News about the situation, describing it as "absolutely appalling" and "disgusting." Cllr. Murphy was particularly outraged by the fact that such irresponsible dumping is happening despite the availability of local facilities for proper waste disposal. "There is no excuse for anyone to be doing this," she said. "In most cases, people would be able to dispose of their rubbish correctly for very little money, so there is absolutely no reason for this kind of behaviour."  "If anyone sees or knows who is behind these awful dumping incidents, please report them," she urged. "It's not just the Brownswood area — it's happening in many places throughout the district, and it's destroying our beautiful countryside." The councillor also highlighted that even with signs and CCTV in place, illegal dumping continues to be a serious problem. "The presence of CCTV should act as a deterrent, but clearly it is not enough," Murphy said. "We need people to take note when they see large vehicles pulling up to dump rubbish and report those activities. These vehicles must be big if they’re carrying this amount of waste." Despite the challenges, Murphy expressed hope that with the help of the community, the culprits could eventually be identified and held accountable. "All we need is one piece of evidence to tie them to the rubbish," she noted. "Even if they didn’t dump the waste themselves, they could have hired someone to do it, and they will still be responsible." She called for stricter enforcement and heavier fines for offenders, as well as continued collaboration with Wexford County Council to clean up and prevent further incidents. Enniscorthy Tidy Towns has already reported the situation to Wexford County Council, but as Murphy points out, this issue requires a collective effort to resolve. "It costs us as a community far more to clean this up than it would for individuals to dispose of their rubbish correctly," she said. "We must continue to keep an eye on our local areas and make sure that anyone who tries to dispose of waste improperly is reported."