Highest amount of dog-fouling fines in Ireland handed out in Cork County in 2024
Not all dog owners do their duty and pick up their pet's poop. Photo: Getty
The most dog-fouling penalties in Ireland were issued in Cork County last year.
Just 37 fines for dog-fouling were issued nationwide in 2024, with 11 of these served by Cork County Council.
The county council issued six fines in 2023 and 17 fines in 2022.
Cork City Council issued no fines in 2024 or the year previous, and served just one in 2022.
The city council is attempting to tackle the issue by raising awareness and changing behaviour rather than having its wardens chase their tails trying to hand out fines.
A number of the local authorities surveyed by the Irish Independent openly acknowledged that dog-fouling fines are difficult to issue because of the way the legislation is set out.
Similar to other littering offences, a dog-fouling fine can only be handed out when:
•The dog’s owner was witnessed when the fouling happened.
•The owner is identified by the witness.
•The witness testifies the owner left without picking up the dog’s waste.
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Michael Sheehan, who works in the environmental department of Cork City Council, said issuing fines is “notoriously difficult” when it comes to dog fouling.
One of the more significant measures adopted in Cork city was the establishment of a six-councillor committee on dog fouling, a measure Mr Sheehan said its members have “got fully on board with”.
Much of the effort goes towards educating primary school children, who get involved in a yearly poster-drawing competition. The resulting posters, all decrying those who leave their dog’s poo behind, are displayed in Cork city’s shopping centres in the months following the competition.
Advertising is also a feature of Cork City Council’s anti-dog-fouling campaign.
Not only can dog faeces on pavements result in dirty shoes, pram and wheelchair wheels, but they can also carry a risk of illness.
Dogs carry roundworm and the worm eggs found in faeces can cause toxocariasis, a potentially serious condition that can lead to vision problems and difficulty breathing.
The condition is rare and can only be caused by ingesting the eggs while the faeces has to have been lying around for a few weeks or months. Toxocariasis cannot be transferred between people, but the seriousness of the illness means dog foul that is left lying around can have dangerous consequences.
