[Article] Councils planning clamp[down] on car dumping

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/national/8207945?view=Eircomnet

Councils planning clamp[down] on car dumping
From:The Irish Independent
Wednesday, 7th June, 2006

LOCAL authorities are set to clamp down on car owners who illegally dump their vehicles. Car owners often strip their vehicle of licence plates, insurance and tax discs and set it alight before abandoning it in estates or on the roadside, making it all but impossible for local authorities to track them down.

However, environment officials in South Dublin County Council (SDCC) and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council are planning to introduce new rules for contractors who retrieve abandoned cars that will require them to record engine numbers.

A database will also be set up to provide this information for gardai and insurance companies trying to trace stolen cars.

According to council officials, the number of cars illegally dumped rose dramatically following the introduction of the National Car Test in 2002, costing the local authority thousands of euro in disposal costs. In south Dublin, one of the worst areas for abandoned cars, the council spent €60,000 disposing of almost 1,000 vehicles. This was down from a high of more than 2,200 in 2002.

Perpetrators face fines of up to €3,000 if convicted of illegally dumping a vehicle. "We want to be able to track owners of vehicles a lot better. At the moment, if a car is burned out at the side of the road it is virtually impossible to track down who owned it," said Peter Moffat, senior officer with the environmental services department of SDCC.

"The gardai track engine numbers but at the moment we do not have that as part of our contract," Mr Moffat added.

Councils will dispose of unwanted cars at the request of owners for a charge of €50.

Breda Heffernan