JOHNSTOWN: 19 April 2001: by Brian Byrne. Kildare County Council says it has the cleaning up of the lay-by at Palmerstown 'on its programme'. The comment follows complaints from local councillor Mary Glennon last week, and a highlighting of the situation on national radio last week.
"It IS our responsibility and it WILL be cleaned up," information officer Charlie Talbot told KNN this week. "I should point out, though, that we didn't CREATE the litter."
And he pointed out that the Council has a strong programme of education and practical action for making Kildare litter free. "We have provided thousands of litter bins and we are high on the list of those local authorities prosecuting people who litter."
The debris, including hazardous materials, was left by travelling merchants who parked in the layby after leaving Naas Livestock Mart the week before last.
Mr Talbot says he wasn't aware if any of the travellers had been prosecuted by the council, either in relation to the recent incident or earlier ones around the county last year.
©2001brianbyrne/knn