A north Monaghan councillor is again pressing the County Council to tackle what he says is a worrying rise in illegal dumping, after fresh incidents across the Sliabh Beagh uplands and at bring banks in Emyvale and Scotstown.
Speaking to Northern Sound on Tuesday, 13 October, Cllr Pauric Clerkin (Fine Gael) said there had been a number of fly-tipping incidents in recent months in the Sliabh Beagh area and at the bottle and clothes banks in the two villages. He called on the council to consider using Sliabh Beagh for a public awareness campaign, and said he had been assured that the local authority is confident those responsible for the recent dumping will be brought to justice. Northern Sound reported him saying the dumping is not acceptable and needs to stop.
He said it was particularly disappointing to see clothes and other materials left at the banks when many of the items could go in household bins or to charity shops.
A problem the council has already costed
The councillor's latest intervention follows a longer-running argument he has been making at council level. When Monaghan County Council adopted its Litter Management Plan 2026–2029 in June, the Anglo-Celt reported that dealing with litter had cost the authority €1.32 million in 2025, including more than €100,000 on anti-dumping initiatives and clean-ups. Environment staff told the meeting they had investigated 369 litter-related complaints that year, an average of about seven a week, including 34 cases where wash from illicit fuel manufacturing was dumped.
At that meeting Cllr Clerkin described a "massive surge" in illegal dumping across the county, including scenic Sliabh Beagh, and said domestic refuse was being left at the Emyvale and Scotstown bring banks — household goods, children's clothing and even cat food waste among it. He said a local priest had told him there were rodents near the Scotstown banks and feared they could reach St Mary's Chapel. He asked the council to work with Comhairle na nÓg and other youth groups on anti-litter pilots.
Officials said Emyvale and Scotstown were among eight bring-bank sites earmarked for CCTV under a scheme then moving through public consultation. Acting Director of Environment Services Nial O'Connor also outlined a later pilot to check households without a bin service against housing records, using national waste enforcement powers to ask how waste is being disposed of.
What the law says, and how to report it
Illegal dumping is an offence under the Waste Management Act 1996 and can bring large fines or imprisonment, Monaghan County Council says on its environment pages. From 1 September 2026, the on-the-spot litter fine rose from €150 to €250, with a maximum of €4,000 on conviction in the District Court for a litter offence.
Anyone who sees dumping is asked to contact the council's Environment Section with the exact location — a road number, Eircode or coordinates help. Reports can go to [email protected], by phone on 042 9661240, or on the confidential freephone answering service 1800 200014 (messages are checked weekly). The Environment office is at Carrickmacross Civic Offices, Riverside Road, Carrickmacross.
For walkers and residents around Sliabh Beagh and the north Monaghan bring banks, Cllr Clerkin's message this week is the same one he has been repeating all year: report what you see, and expect the council to follow through.
