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RESIDENTS ON A street in north Dublin are urging the council to address the illegal dumping and drug-taking in a laneway beside their homes.
Maria Sebbar, who lives on Killarney Parade in Phibsborough, said bags of rubbish are frequently discarded in the lane along with household items.
“There is human faeces out there as well, and people are taking drugs down there at night,” she told TheJournal.ie.
“When you ring the council they say they’re not in charge of it – but neither are we. I get frustrated because they won’t help and they’re supposed to be there to do that.”
One of her elderly neighbours clears some of the rubbish when it builds up, she said, but this woman then has to fill up her own households bins that she pays for.
Nearly two weeks ago, a bed and mattress were dumped in the narrow lane.
“An older guy who lives on the street saw them the weekend before last in a van. They just got out and dumped it,” she said.
Zebbar said she and other residents use the laneway, which she can access through her garden, to bring out her bins, but she has been unable to do this with the bed blocking the way.
“I asked the council on the phone how I was supposed to wheel my bins out and they told me to move it. But when I said I’d move it into the street and then they could collect it, they told me I’d be illegally dumping it.”
An employee in the council also suggested she pay to install gates to close off the lane.
“I’m not paying to get rid of a bed that’s not mine, I’m not shovelling crap up – I’m not doing that. We pay taxes for these things and then you have to fight for them to do anything – I don’t know what to do.”
Dublin City Council did not respond to a request for comment on the illegal dumping.
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As a journalist why didn’t you investigate if indeed they have jurisdiction over this and if not who does? That’s pretty much the crux of the story no?
@Chris Finn: women complains about rubbish on lane that she not journalist know who officially formally is responsible
@Chris Finn: going by my reading of the article is that it’s a private lane way (hence the recommendation to gate it off). I can understand the ladies frustration too, drive down a certain notorious street in the north inner city behind the ifsc on a Sunday especially and you will various amounts of rubbish strewn across the streets, buggies beds, empty crates of beer, broken up wardrobes… Drive down it again at 9am Monday morning…. Spotless. All paid for and completed by tax dollars via DCC. It’s a downright disgrace.
@Ian Breathnach: would tgis be Sherrif street? They live like animals
@Ian Breathnach: the true ownership/responsibility is literally not mentioned once and is left to your imagination in an article that requires that
@Chris Finn: I’ve investigated and the lane isn’t registered. The council refuse to help find out who built the houses and this is who probably owns the lane. I would think it was left by the builder as an access for coal etc but doesn’t belong to the residents.
@Chris Finn: Are you saying that I am responsible for dumping rubbish and going to the toilet in the back lane that I and other residents use as access as do other members of the public?
@Maria Zebbar: where you getting that from I just said the ownership of the lane wasn’t investigated. Your research explains it. So it’s owned by the builders. Same as if a neighbour had rubbish build up.
The way to resolve is find name of builders and send them a solicitors letter. May be long and hard to do that. So I’d take a cheaper faster option of paying collectively for gates and camera and paying for rubbish to be taken not ideal nor do you have any obligation but it may be the only successful way
Hey journal for yer New Years resolution maybe ye could try putting a bit of effort and investigation into yer articles? I’m losing interest in this site like a lot of others I’d imagine due to the poor quality.
If the council have no jurisdiction over the lane what does she expect them to do?? If she had a private house and her toilet blocked would she expect the council to fix that too??
@Weldoninhio: As a matter of public safety we expect the council to uphold the law and demand that the owners of the property to remove their rubbish.
@Chris Kirk: You want the council to “uphold the law”??? Not their job, call the cops. And if the lane is private property then there is nothing that the council can “demand” of the owners.
If they did i’d imagine that the owners of the lane would be quick to seal it off, stopping the residents from using it as a byway.
@Chris Kirk: Also, if its private property, the public (i.e. the householders) shouldn’t be using it.
@Chris Kirk: are they the same laws that say the council is not responsible for private property problems.
@Weldoninhio: Councils do have powers to act against owners of private property if they feel that there is a health hazard.
@Weldoninhio: The Waste Management Act gives the council authority over dumping, both on private and public property.
@George Salter: Only in certain circumstances.
@Weldoninhio: I would pay to have the toilet unblcoked, my house, my problem! The lane way is not owned by me or other residents, we don’t have to clear human waste and dumped rubbish.We should be able to access the lane and take our rubbish bins out, which we pay for, without dodging human waste and moving dumped rubbish.
@Maria Zebbar: Then who owns the lane? That seems to be the crux of the issue. Once ownership is established, that person/persons can be informed of the dumping etc and take responsibility… hopefully.
@Mark C Corley: We don’t know. I am trying to find out but the lane has been there for 100 years or more. I would think it was left by the builder as surplus land and used as access.
It would be fairly simple to just put a gate on each end and give residents keys for them. If the residents put a few Bob in each
@Bhiniáimin Ó Beith: Its private property. Have the residents got permission to 1. erect a gate/s and 2. use the lane.
Here’s an idea…why not direct your anger at your neighbours for illegal dumping and not the council
@Brian O’Loughlin: A lot of the time it isn’t the neighbours but people passing through an area. I actually saw a guy dumping furniture in the park near me. I recognised his car as he parks so badly outside where he lives on my route to work about 5 miles from the park. A very large expensive home. Rang the litter warden and gave the details. Never heard anything afterwards but the furniture was gone the next day.
It’s sad that our community ties have become so weak that we can’t even sort out simple issues like these ourselves, but have to call in the local government bureaucracy.
The neighbours should get together and gate off both ends of the lane. If that doesn’t solve the problem, there are other measures they could take.
@Brian O’Loughlin: Because the neighbours aren’t the ones dumping the rubbish and using the lane as a public toilet. We live here and are just trying to keep our lane and street clean. The council are paid to do the same job!
@John Conroy: What are the other measures? The lane isn’t owned by the residents it is a lane way that was left as surplus land and we don’t know who owns it, I’ve tried but it’s not registered. I’ve asked the Council for help in finding out if the builder is still alive and if not, does this lane belong to his family. The houses are over 100 years old,.
.
I walked from the Mater hospital to Busarus recently and was shocked by the amount of street litter and dumped rubbish I saw. Surely the council is responsiple for keeping the streets clean.
@Chris Kirk: streets, not private property except in specific cases such as food hygiene & safety or to ensure private rented property meets minimum standards.
@Chris Kirk: Surely citizens are responsible to not dump and throw rubbish, We should be responsible for ourselves rather then being lazy and looking for someone to clean up our mess
@Chris Kirk: yea agree – was on the north circular near Croker recently. Some of the local not treating the place very well at all. With ownership comes responsibility of course
@Fergus Sheahan: In an ideal world, of course people should be responsible for themselves and their rubbish. However if the people who do it see no repercussions for their actions, what’s going to stop them?
It should be up to local councils or the gardai to find and punish those who illegally dump, not just fobbing off anyone who reports it with the excuse “not my jurisdiction”.
@Vocal Outrage: The lane way is not owned by the residents. There is human waste all over the lane, it is a health hazard.
Not sure why people think this is private property. Laneways around Dublin are not privately owned. If you want to gate them you have to get the council to agree because they own them.
@Kal Ipers: Agree. My parents house backs onto a lane way, as do other residents. They got a gate put in and only a couple of the residents have a key. The council will put up a gate if you harass them enough.
@Nicola Mc Clurg: The council don’t put up the gates the residents pay for them and get them installed. There is a bit of effort involved. We had one resident complaining they didn’t want the gates so it took ages. Another lane had so many objections they we couldn’t put up gates.
@Kal Ipers: not all laneways around Dublin are publicly owned,
@GClare: True but the vast majority are unless they have been gated. That lane is either Victorian or Georgian so would be. They are known as coal lanes litterally because that was what they were for. Older corporation estates have them too.
Vehicles have registration numbers.
Pass this lane every day to and from work ,the second the council clean it it’s full of rubbish next day, load’s of Roma gypsies around area throwing rubbish down lane which I have seen with my own eye’s before everyone starts calling me racist for claiming Fact.
A month ago a council contractor dumped waste onto property of mine!
After a month of unanswered emails and phone calls, I was eventually told by the council it had nothing too do do with them and they would get the contractor to ring me and sort it out
Unsurprisingly I have not received a phone call from them and I ain’t holding my breath waiting either
@Eamonn coughlan: Report it to the Gardai and check this site out – http://www.epa.ie/enforcement/report/nationalenvironmentalcomplaintsline/
Maybe organize the Residents and put up a gate ? Many years ago we blocked a laneway with a wall to stop people taking a shortcut and causing a nuisance. Council turned up and were told to go about their business. Wall is still there after 20 years !
I work for Dublin city council and we have cleaned this lane and many others in the area. As soon as we’re gone they’re dumping there again. Landlords have a lot to answer for. Just for the record it is not the council’s responsibility for putting gates up. This must be done between the residents. If people have a problem in this area I would recommend to go down to slaney rd in the Dublin industrial estate beside woodies and report it. It’s funny how the fingers always get pointed at us and not a thing is said to the ones dumping. I personally live in blanchardstown and as a community we don’t rely on the local council to clean every little thing that gets dumped. Believe me if we were to go private you’ll have a real reason to give out and they’ll be nothing anyone can do about it. Now regarding this issue in question I’ll personally look into getting this resolved asap
@Jason Boothman: In the past year, this lane has been cleaned once and only because I contacted the council. I was handed a shovel, DCC bags and gloves. I was told to collect all the rubbish and DCC would collect it. This was done once and since then, nothing. I am not picking up human waste, sorry. We, as residents try to keep it clean but we don’t own this lane either, it is a public access lane. I have asked if we can pay DCC to erect gates but they said ‘No’. We can erect gates of 2m high, which is of no use as not high enough, people will throw rubbish over and be able to climb over. I think we would also have to get permission from all the emergency services, water, electrical, gas etc. This rubbish isn’t being dumped by us, people arrice and leave what ever they have and we’re left with cleaning it up, What is the ‘Property Tax’ for? I get told different things by DCC staff, each time I telephone. The DCC truck goes to other streets in the area, why not our’s?
Every second person in and around Dublin are dumping ,what the council should do is get in contact with the rubbish collecters and get the details of people who dont get their bins pick up . They should request details how they get rib of their waste . If they are not satisfied with their answer maybe they should order them to start using their bins . I live beside a young lady whose bins have not being picked up for months they are overflowing and the rubbish is piled up in the back . It,s disgrace to have to look at and the council are not doing a damm thing about it
@Denise Prendergast: Not true it is a small amount of people affecting a large area.
@Denise Prendergast: they do this monitoring in some areas apparently
How about actually balming their s(umbag neighbours and junkies for the dumping and drug use and report them and name them to the Gardai rather than blaming the council!
@MyBrokenKnees: I’m not blaming the council! The neighbours are not dumping rubbish, injecting drugs or using the lane way as a toilet.The laneway is not owned by the residents. Why do we pay property tax? Why do we have to what the council are paid to do?
Create maps and open up data on over 120 types of litter including illegal dumping, art made from litter, marine litter, dogshit, baggies, cigarette butts and lots more anywhere @ openlittermap.com it’s like Pokémon go for tidy towns see openlittermap.com/maps/Ireland/County%20Cork/Cork/map
What is the household charge for if not to keep an area clean..
No evidence of any shites in dem photos.
@Paul Culligan: Walk up and down the lane, then tell me the same.
What a load of rubbish!
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