The mayor of Tralee is calling on the public to show greater respect for their town.
Labour councillor, Terry O’Brien, made the remarks while proposing a motion at the recent Tralee Municipal District meeting.
He called on Kerry County Council to carry out an audit of the laneways near the town centre, which he said have been used as rubbish dumps in recent months.
Mayor O'Brien was informed that the council’s Environment Section has conducted 17 investigations and clean-ups in Tralee laneways so far in 2025.
He was told that, as part of the council’s environmental investigation process, wardens conducted thorough inspections of the waste dumped at these sites and issued two fines based on evidence found during the clean-up.
The 17 investigations took place at Walpole Lane (1), McCowan Lane (2), Market Place Lane (3), Courthouse Lane (3), Chutes Lane (2), Bill Booley Lane (1), Denny Lane (4), and Friary Lane (1).
The mayor noted that groups like Tidy Towns work tirelessly to maintain Tralee, but said a small group of “usual suspects” continue to use secluded laneways to dump rubbish.
Seconding the motion, Councillor Deirdre Ferris said she had recently heard from a guide dog user who was unable to find a bin for dog waste due to the removal of many public bins.
She acknowledged that the removal was necessary because people have been bringing household waste to public bins, but argued the issue will persist until waste collection is returned to local authority control, allowing the council to monitor who is paying for the service.
She also stressed the urgent need for Data Impact Assessments to enable the installation of CCTV cameras to monitor littering.
