Locals have been kicking up a stink over supposed human waste being continuously deposited on the Dodder Walkway, to the rear of the Aviva Stadium.
The serial offender has been relieving themselves along a particular stretch of road, across the Dodder from the Dublin 4 stadium, near the entrance to Lansdowne village, leaving residents feeling foul.
It is believed that it is one particular individual leaving the waste. One local has revealed that every day they walk to work at 7am, there is excrement on the walkway, sometimes covered with newspaper.
A number of locals have voiced their fury, saying that they’ve had to change their walking route, or that their young children have seen the waste.
Nicole Moe, said: “I was walking along there last Sunday with my three-year-old daughter. Some of it is covered with paper, but some of it is all over the walkway.”
One resident says that even on match days at the Aviva when there are portaloos nearby, the culprit is still relieving themselves at the same spot.
There have been calls for Dublin City Council to wash and disinfect the walkway due to the repeated incidents, with a number of people saying they are “fed up” of reporting the waste to the council as nothing has been done.
An Garda Siochana told Dublin Gazette that anyone with information about such anti-social behaviour should report the matter to their local garda station, and that any reports will be fully investigated.
Lynn Betson, who lives in the area, said that there have been so many repeated incidents that the walkway is “stained” as a result.
She said: “A lot of that walkway is stained with traces of this disgusting excrement. It’s embedded into the concrete, along with traces of the newspaper as well.
“This excrement is coming from either a seriously ill person or animal, and is likely to be infectious.
“It’s a serious health hazard to the community. The complaints need to be taken seriously.”
Two local Labour councillors, Dermot Lacey and Kevin Humphreys, have both called for action.
Cllr Humphreys said that he has previously reported the excrement, saying: “The culprit is going to have to be caught.”
Speaking to Dublin Gazette, Cllr Lacey said: “While it is not an excuse, these repeated incidents highlight a lack of public toilets, which is a huge issue.
“Hopefully the planned Dodder Greenway – with more usage and better public lighting – will also help [to stop this].”
Chris Andrews, a councillor from Sinn Fein, also said that he has made contact with both the council and Gardai over the excrement.
Andrews said: “This is disgusting and clearly unhealthy for users of the walkway.
“I have contacted the Gardai and also the Council and ask for the area to be monitored more often in the evenings when it seems to occur until the person responsible is caught. I have also asked that it be cleaned by power hosing.”
Dublin City Council said: “The legislation that governs this type of issue is enforced by the Gardaí and relates to public decency.
“It is not a matter for Dublin City Council to seek to enforce and it is important to note that such occurrences may be a symptom of significantly more complex human and social issues than the offence of being an irresponsible dog owner who refuses to pick up after their dog.
“We do not have any record of repeated incidents at this location however we were informed of this specific complaint through our customer services centre.
“Arrangements have been made to clean and power wash the area in question and this will be done as required in the case of any further incidents of this nature.”
