DONEGAL County Council did not issue a single dog fouling fine in a 10 month period.
Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows the local authority failed to hand out even a single fine for dog fouling offences between January and October, 2023.
Data from Vision Ireland, previously the National Council for the Blind in Ireland (NCBI), meanwhile, confirmed that Donegal County Council was one of 17 local authorities that failed to issue a fine for dog fouling offences during the whole of 2022.
This means the local authority has gone 22 months without issuing a fine for dog fouling offences.
Kevin Kelly, national strategic partnership manager for Vision Ireland, formerly the National Council for the Blind in Ireland (NCBI), highlighted the need to tackle dog fouling.
“Dog fouling is a huge issue for people who are blind or vision impaired who use our footpaths daily,” he said.
“A recent Vision Ireland survey showed that it was the third most frequent unexpected obstacle encountered by respondents.
“Not only can dog fouling cause a slip hazard, but it can also be distressing for white cane users whose canes are often dirtied by faeces.
“Firstly, the dog fouling data shows that councils can’t be expected to police the issue alone,” he added.
“It’s impractical to think that wardens could observe every single dog owner who doesn’t clean up after their dog and then issue them with a fine. There needs to be significant effort from the public to clean up after their pets in the first instance.
“It’s imperative that we all work to make our footpaths usable for all members in our communities.”
Donegal County Council was contacted for comment.
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