Mayor won’t remove anti-litter posters after council request
The Mayor of Athlone has said he has “no intention” of removing over 30 posters he has erected in the urban area to promote an anti-litter initiative, despite being requested to do so by Westmeath County Council.
Cllr Aengus O’Rourke confirmed to the Westmeath Independent this week that he was contacted by a council official from the Athlone Moate Municipal District and asked to remove the posters promoting his RID (Report Illegal Dumping) campaign to combat illegal dumping and littering in Athlone.
A defiant Cllr O’Rourke said he is planning to retain all his posters, and says the initiative has been working “extremely well so far” and has received “huge buy in and support” from the local community.
“I get several calls every day from people looking for signage and complimenting me on the RID initiative," he said.
"And in the absence of any meaningful council initiative in this regard I believe my signs are doing a crucial job,” said Cllr O’Rourke.
Ballymore-based Cllr Vinny McCormack also received a request from the local authority to remove his names from posters he has erected in his local area to promote the council’s ‘Green Kilometre Scheme’ and also to remove the council Freephone number where members of the public can report evidence of illegal dumping or littering in their local area.
“I spent the weekend going around with duct tape and taping over own contact details and the details of Westmeath County Council on the eight posters I have across my local area promoting the Green Kilometre Scheme,” said Cllr McCormack.
At a meeting of Westmeath County Council's Athlone Moate Municipal District last week, Cllr Tom Farrell queried if “certain members” had permission to erect posters and signage in the Municipal District to promote the ‘Green Kilometre Scheme’ and, if not, he asked if these posters should be removed.
“I think the member Cllr Farrell is referring to is me,” said Cllr Vinny McCormack, who admitted to having erected a number of posters in his own electoral area to raise awareness of the anti-litter scheme.
“I don’t see anything wrong with that,” he added.
However, Director of Services Barry Kehoe said the council “could not condone” individual councillors erecting posters or signage to promote an initiative of the local authority and including their own contact details on such signage.“We are a team and we should work as a team, so I don’t think it is a matter for any individual councillor to adopt a go it alone policy,” he said.
Despite the comments from the Director of Services, Cllr McCormack received widespread supports for his stance from fellow councillors, particularly in light of the fact that the council had spent the previous hour and a half discussing the huge proliferation in dumping right across the Municipal District, and ways in which it could be tackled.
“Here is a councillor taking his own initiative and trying to do something about what we have been discussing here for over an hour and a half today,” said Kilbeggan-based Cllr Liam McDaniel “I do not agree that Cllr McCormack is wrong, I think he is doing right, so let’s show a bit of understanding here,” he said, while Cllr Frankie Keena said councillors should be given “a bit of latitude” on the issue.
“It’s easy to complain about dumping in the papers and at council meetings, but at least I’m trying to do something about it, actions speak louder than words,” said Cllr Aengus O’Rourke, who has vowed to “continue to tackle the dumpers” and says he has “the support of the people” to do that.
The Athlone Mayor launched his RID campaign in mid-February and said at the time that it was his strong opinion that the only way the problem of illegal dumping could be tackled effectively in the long-term sense is with the help of the public. “The public need to become the littler wardens of their district” he said.
“I am pleading with people to take a pro-active approach,” he said “to be vigilant and to report illegal dumping when they see it happening.”