IBAL Results - Response from LTTA
IBAL’s February, 2009 Survey of Leixlip has us up there again with towns “Clean to European Norms”, during dark and difficult working conditions.
Here’s how we responded to the local news media:
“Leixlip Tidy Town Association (Established 1963) is delighted with IBAL’s latest litter survey, finding the town still up there in the highest category, ‘Clean to European Norms’”.
Seven out of ten Leixlip sites surveyed got the top grade.
“While there are now sixty towns in the survey, compared to 55 last time, when Leixlip also ranked 23rd, they are not the same towns and a strict comparison can’t be made. Two Kildare towns, Athy - which has performed erratically and badly in recent years’ adjudications - and Maynooth along with Greystones in Co Wicklow, which entered the scheme at the same time as Leixlip a few years ago, are no longer being appraised. It appears that they have been taken out because of a reluctance to have them appraised on the part of the county councils. If this is the case, it is defeating the objective of IBAL’s scheme.” Towns which fare badly within IBAL’s scheme will fare worse out of it.
“The collaboration of Leixlip’s Tidy Town Association, Town Council and reps from Kildare Co Council in pursuit of a cleaner local environment seems to be paying off. The three participate in an Anti-Litter or Tripartite Committee and meet occasionally to coordinate their activities. In March, 2009 the Committee met with an expert from an Taisce to discuss issues of concern, among them clarification of the town boundary used by an Taisce in the appraisal of litter.
Unfortunately, this has yet to be dealt with. “The current IBAL study, which is normally done in February, has mystified us as to how the Lucan to Celbridge Road and the M4 approach roads from Lucan Spa to Cooldrinagh roundabout are being held to be part of Leixlip, when clearly they are part of Lucan, Co Dublin! For this area the IBAL adjudicators noted a
Serious Litter Problem – this was by far the most heavily littered of all the sites surveyed in Leixlip. The base of the shrubbery/bushes was particularly bad with a ‘long-term’ build up of ‘old’ litter.
“We agree that it is, and has been, seriously littered. Anybody taking a bus from Palmerstown to the Spa Hotel, Lucan and thence across the Celbridge-Lucan road to Cooldrinagh will know that this area has rarely been cleaned. But cleansing it is principally the job of South Dublin County Council supplemented by Lucan’s volunteers. It is not a Leixlip or Kildare issue. We already cleanse the Dublin approach road (Leixlip Road) from Cooldrinagh roundabout to Leixlip village: this the judges said “was a clean and fresh approach into Leixlip.””
“It is ironic that Lucan was ranked 22nd (to Leixlip’s 23rd) when Leixlip is being held responsible for Lucan’s litter! We look forward to sorting this litter matter out with IBAL’s adjudicators in an Taisce asap.”
We congratulate Celbridge on their fine performance, well deserved, on this their first IBAL appraisal. We have plans to collaborate with them on our mutual approach roads.
Issued for Leixlip Tidy Town Association by John Colgan, PRO, LTTA, to whom it may be attributed as spokesperson for LTTA.
Enquiries to 085 100 73 69 or 01 6244631