Woman fined over €3,500 for illegal dumping

A BALLINA woman has been fined more than €3,500 for illegal dumping on the Attymass Road outside Ballina.
Aoife Barrett, with an address of Cloonislaun, Church Road, Ballina who failed to appear at Ballina District Court on Tuesday last, received fines and legal bills totalling €3,576 after documents belonging to her were discovered in rubbish that had been illegally dumped.
Environmental officer with Mayo County Council Maria O’Connell told the court that on January 14 last at Carracurby on the Attymass Road, she observed municipal waste in a drain.
Known as a littering ‘blackspot’, the area where the rubbish was found can be accessed via a gravel road near the River Moy.
Bottles, tins, aerosols, baby furniture and documents were among the waste items found. An application for a Garda Age Card bearing Ms Barrett’s name and an address in Rahoon, Galway, was also, as well as a letter from the HSE addressed to Barrett at the same address was also found.
After undertaking local enquiries, the Environmental Officer was satisfied that Ms Barrett now lived in the area close to where the dumping had taken place.
A current address for Ms Barrett was sought from the Department of Social Protection, and the address of Cloonislaun, Church Rd, Ballina, was supplied. The court heard that this address was ‘very close’ to Carracurby.
The court was told that legal proceedings were undertaken following the cleaning of the site by Mayo County Council, which amounted to €1,726.
Judge Mary Devins convicted Ms Barrett for the illegal dumping, fining her €1,000, plus €1,726 for the cost of cleaning up the litter and a further €850 for legal costs.