14
Dundalk Leader 29th July 2026
Dundalk Leader Local Democracy Reports By LAUREN ROSS l lauren@dundalkleader.com
Calls for summer beach ‘I wouldn’t feel comfortable’: wardens at Templetown Dundalk cycling concerns raised again and Blackrock SEASONAL beach wardens could help manage traffic, loose dogs and water-safety concerns at Templetown and Blackrock during the busy summer months, councillors have suggested at the July meeting of Dundalk Municipal District. Cathaoirleach of Dundalk Municipal District, Cllr Andrea McKevitt (FF), first raised the idea pointing to the use of beach rangers in other tourist destinations and asking whether a similar approach could work at Templetown and suggesting the council could explore whether school traffic wardens might be offered seasonal duties during the summer holidays, providing a regular presence to help manage traffic and report problems. “It could be something we could look at for them to control traffic or even report issues back, so they’re on the ground all the time, and maybe man the traffic,” she said. Cllr McKevitt added dog fouling was also a “huge issue” at Templetown, along with dogs running loose on the beach. “Especially at the weekends, there are constantly people with dogs on the beach, and people are going there because they think there are not going to be any dogs,” she said. “Then there are ten dogs running wild, not on leads or anything, and there is nobody there to manage it.” Responding, a council official said the authority would examine what might be possible in relation to school wardens assisting with traffic and would speak to the dog warden about carrying out patrols at Templetown. The discussion then widened to Blackrock, where Cllr Robert Nash (FG) asked whether a beach warden could be considered because of the risks posed by the changing tide.
Templetown Beach. He said a warden would not necessarily have to remain there throughout the day, but could be present around the times when the tide was coming in and going out. “I think it would be an excellent idea for Blackrock,” he said. Cllr Nash told the meeting that he had seen the Coast Guard helicopter attending Blackrock more often than Templetown, with the council official describing Blackrock as “a very tricky beach”. The council official agreed to take away the suggestion of a warden at Blackrock, while noting that the council already provides lifeguards at Louth’s three Blue Flag beaches, however, Blackrock is not one of those beaches. Dog-waste facilities were also discussed after Cllr Ciaran Fisher (Ind) asked who councillors should contact about securing additional bins. Under a new national fund, announced by Minister of State for the Circular Economy, Alan Dillion on 2nd July,
€250,000 is set to be made available to local authorities across the country, to help with the purchase of dog fouling bins and related infrastructure. However, the council official cautioned that Louth’s share would be limited as the allocation would be divided between all 30 councils nationwide, adding that he expected Louth County Council to get around €10,000 euro or less. “We’re not going to get many,” the official said. “We’re not going to buy hundreds of bins, but we will get a few.” Furthermore, with regards to better tackling dog fouling, fines for littering and dog fouling are also set to rise from €150 to €250 on 1st September, 2026, also announced by Minister Dillon. No decision was made on appointing beach wardens, but the council official agreed to examine the proposals raised for both Templetown and Blackrock.
A DUNDALK councillor has said she would not feel comfortable cycling through the town centre, as concerns about worn and overgrown cycle lanes remain unresolved. Cllr Sionnan McCann (SF) returned to the issue at the latest meeting of Dundalk Municipal District, a month after councillors raised problems with faded markings, overgrowth and sections they said were difficult to use. “Last month, a number of us raised issues around cycle infrastructure around the town and the state of some of the cycle paths,” she said. She asked when the work would be completed, adding that the recent fine weather made this “the ideal time to be cycling about the town”. “I wouldn’t do it, to be quite honest,” she said. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable cycling around the town centre.” At the June meeting, Cllr McCann described some cycle lanes as “unusable”. She pointed to a tree growing in a lane on Jocelyn Street and faded markings near the
Cllr Sionainn McCann. Home Bakery, saying cyclists sometimes had to move back onto the road. Cllr Seán Kelly (FF) also called for markings around Seatown to be urgently addressed, saying cycle lanes were “great” but needed upkeep. At the July meeting, the question of road markings was also raised again by Cllr Ciaran Fisher (Ind) who noted road markings at Chapel Street, the pedestrian crossing at the Square to the long walk in the town were also “very faded”. He also highlighted a traffic
light on Chapel Street separating the traffic from the cycle lane, which he described as being “bent all the way to the ground” as the result of what he thought had been a car crashing into it. While he said the traffic light and bollard in question had been removed, he was concerned that cars were now able to drive into the cycle lane and park in the area. Responding to Cllr McCann’s latest query, an official said the Active Travel programme had “a couple of million” available this year and that the plan was to begin works on new cycle lanes at the end of this year. Regarding road marking, the meeting was told the council had €50,000 set aside to do road markings and it “had done a lot of road marking in the last couple of months but there was a bit more to do.” The council said the areas raised by Cllr Fisher would be addressed “in due course”, while stop lines and centre lines were being refreshed where possible within the available budget.
Council to continue CCTV crackdown on illegal dumping CCTV cameras are “such a good deterrent” that Louth County Council is to spend €20,000 from its own resources to keep them in use at illegal dumping hotspots in Dundalk. The update came after Cllr Antóin Watters (SF) asked at the July meeting of Dundalk Municipal District whether there had been any progress on placing cameras at a number of problem locations. A council official said no funding had been awarded for CCTV under this year’s Anti-Dumping Initiative, despite the council normally
receiving about €20,000 for the measure. However, he added, “We are going to use €20,000 from other funds to put cameras in the worst places.” A small number of known hotspots will now be selected, including locations that have previously been raised with the council. “We are going to put cameras out again, but we just have to fund it internally because they are such a good deterrent,” the official told the meeting. Louth did receive €81,400 for four other anti-dumping projects this year, including
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
mattress and sofa collections in Dundalk, Drogheda and Ardee, with the official confirming at the meeting that those collections would go ahead as usual in September. Councillors were also advised that the fixed-payment fine for littering and dog fouling is currently €150 and will rise to €250 from the start of September. “The fines are going up to €250 from 1st September, so if you get caught now you are really going to get hammered for littering,” the meeting was told.