Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca has condemned the illegal dumping that has been taking place on Magheramore Beach and the surrounding headland which are situated outside of Wicklow Town.

According to de Burca, large quantities of illegal waste have been left lying in the area over the past two month period, with no effort being made to clean it up. "A vandalized vehicle filled with builders waste has been left at the beach for almost two months now and yet nothing has been done to remove it" says de Burca. "Members of the public who have complained have been told that Wicklow County Council's litter warden had contacted the landowner, Mr Paul Maher, and that a clean-up would take place within days. This has not happened yet and the van has since been pushed onto the beach and set fire to making it an even bigger danger to the many bathers/surfers & families that use the beach".

The Green Party councillor says that had the van been removed initially from its location on the side of the headland, it wouldn't have become the mammoth task it is now to have removed from the beach. "The waste rubbish, due to "fly-tipping", hasn't been cleaned up either and grows day by day, with broken bottles and other dangerous, harmful domestic waste strewn all over the headland & on the laneway down to the beach" she says.

De Burca says that while she appreciates this privately owned land is not the direct responsibility of Wicklow County Council, but as a well-known and cherished east coast beach within the Wicklow district, she is amazed that nothing has been done to remove this hazardous waste, and that the responsibility has been left solely with the owner. She claims that the council should get involved at this point.

According to de Burca, from the landowner's point of view it is clearly is a huge inconvenience to have to keep getting the waste removed every time, under the threat of a fine from the litter warden, and at the risk of his public liability insurance being affected by a litigation suit from an injured party. However, she maintains that as the landowner he has a responsibility to maintain this area to the high standard that it has been for so many years.

The Green Party councillor has called for something to be done by both the council and the landowner to try and resolve this issue, so as to prevent this illegal dumping from being carried out in the first place. "It is obvious this is been done at night time," she says. "Securing the gate at night on the main coast road, with unrestricted access granted to the residence of the summer homes situated near the beach, could be carried out, so as to prevent further illegal dumps Even putting a new lock on the height restriction bar might help to prevent some of the dumping taking place. I also appreciate that the public right of way cannot be restricted to the beach during the day, but something has to be done before this beautiful, scenic beach becomes unusable to all".

De Burca says that as each year goes by, Magheramore beach becomes more and more of an eyesore, and gradually loses its appeal as one of the most beautiful and popular beaches for bathers/surfers on the east coast of Ireland." If Wicklow County Council and the current landowner continue to ignore what is a serious illegal dumping spot at Magheramore, then it won't be long before the beach loses it's attraction to bathers/surfers and becomes a "black spot" on the Wicklow coastline and a favoured location with all illegal dumpers" she says.