Killarney’s impressive leap from 28th position in the Irish Business Against Litter league table this time last year to 14th place at the start of 2024 has been lauded by the town’s Chamber of Tourism and Commerce.
The business organisation said it was a “fantastic achievement” in a short space of time and that great credit is due to Killarney Municipal District Council, its outdoor staff and the elected members for being the guiding hand in the push for great improvements.
“The council has turned the ship around and ensured Killarney is heading in the right direction and it augurs well for our ambition to become Ireland’s tidiest town once again,” Chamber joint presidents Johnny McGuire and Pádraig Treacy said in a statement.
There was a real air of disappointment this time last year when Killarney finished in 28th position in the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) league table. The town had climbed to 20th position by mid-summer and now it is in 14th place and edging towards the top ten once again.
The Chamber said in addition to the work of the municipal district council, great strides have been made by the tidy towns committee and volunteers while the reintroduction of the Killarney Looking Good Competition has given the town a real boost.
“It was really encouraging also to see the IBAL adjudicators praising the Killarney coffee cup initiative through which Killarney is setting a nationwide example.
“It is to be hoped that the Government will now work on introducing the required legislation to introduce the long-awaited latte levy so that the initiative can be rolled out nationwide,” the Chamber stated.
For the second year running, the IBAL adjudicators were critical of the commercial bin storage area in the Glebe car park and that problem, once again, has cost Killarney a much higher ranking in the league table given that the grade awarded was just a C+.
“We look forward to this issue being resolved as an immediate priority and we would encourage the business community to work closely with the council and its staff to find a practical and workable solution,” the Chamber said.
“Killarney is very proud to have been declared Ireland’s tidiest large town in the national Tidy Towns competition and our sights are now set on winning the prestigious overall award for the first time since 2011.
“Working together, we can achieve our goals,” the statement from the joint presidents added.
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