AN ADVOCACY GROUP for people with sight loss is calling on dog owners to clean up after their pets as figures reveal just 82 dog fouling fines were handed out by local councils in Ireland last year.
Information provided by local councils to the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) shows that 18 councils handed out zero dog fouling fines in 2022.
Kerry County Council had the highest number of fines at 27.
The NCBI has said dog fouling is a “huge issue” for people who are blind or vision impaired who use footpaths daily.
“The dog fouling data shows that councils can’t be expected to police the issue alone,” NCBI chief services officer Aaron Mullaniff said.
“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,” Mullaniff said.
“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 together to make our footpaths usable for all members in our communities.”
The NCBI also said that cars being parked on footpaths is also a major obstacle for people who are blind or vision impaired.
It recently received data that shows over 19,000 fines were handed out in 2022 for issues around street and inappropriate parking.
The group said that if a footpath is blocked, “people with sight loss may be injured by walking into traffic to get around a vehicle, injured walking into a vehicle, or injured by stepping off kerbs in unfamiliar locations”.
“If councils have noted over 19,000 incidents of inappropriate parking by way of a fine, can you imagine how many undetected instances there are that will pose a real risk to those living with sight loss?” Mullaniff said.
“We’re asking everyone in Ireland to put yourself in a blind or vision impaired person’s shoes when you’re walking your pets, parking your car, putting out your bins or whatever it might be, and to act in a way that’s considerate to those people’s needs,” he said.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithí de Róiste supported the NCBI’s Clear Our Paths campaign.
“We, the general public, need to work harder to keep our paths safe for people who are blind or vision impaired. It is important we take an extra few seconds each day to ensure that our actions do not impact the ability of people who are blind or vision impaired to get out and about safety,” he said.
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