‘Absolutely Disgusting': Illegal nappy dumping at Donegal beauty spot
The incident has sparked fresh appeals for anyone who witnesses illegal dumping to report it to the authorities.
A South Inishowen councillor has condemned the dumping of up to 20 nappies in the Stragill River near Stragill Beach, describing the incident as "absolutely disgusting" and calling on those responsible to think about the impact their actions have on the environment.
Councillor Fionan Bradley was alerted to the illegal dumping by a concerned member of the public after between 15 and 20 nappies were discovered in the river on the approach to Stragill Beach.
He said the nappies had been deliberately dumped there in the beauty spot.
"In the region of 15 to 20 nappies had been dumped into the river and it has to be that they were physically dumped there," he said.
The Fianna Fail councillor reported the matter to Donegal County Council's Environment Section and said the waste was removed promptly.
"It was Wednesday morning, and I reported it to the Environment Section and, as far as I'm aware, they've all been removed by the Environment Section of the Council."
He urged anyone who witnesses illegal dumping to report it.
"I'd appeal to people please not to dump rubbish, but furthermore, if anyone sees anybody dumping anything illegally which shouldn't be dumped, to please report it to the Guards, ring me or ring the Council directly."
Councillor Bradley said the incident was particularly concerning given the current spell of hot weather.
"It's absolutely disgusting from a hygiene point of view. To dump something like that at any time of the year is appalling, but to dump it during what's possibly going to be the longest and warmest heatwave on record in Ireland is just mind-boggling."
"It's obviously going to make a bad situation worse, and there's a massive cost involved in terms of time and money that the Council has to spend to clean it all up. It's terribly unfair on the council staff."
The Buncrana councillor also highlighted the difficult conditions faced by workers tasked with removing the waste.
"With the climate that we have at the minute and the spell of good weather we have, to have to physically go into the river and remove waste in that heat is really disrespectful to the council staff that has to do that because of the person who dumped that stuff there."
The councillor added that it was also especially disappointing that the dumping had occurred at one of Inishowen's popular beauty spots during the busy summer season.
"Of course, it's massively disappointing when a beach such as Stragill should be full of visitors and locals alike enjoying the good weather, only to be met with something like that."
"Whoever did it is not helping the tourism sector in Inishowen and Buncrana. It's just appalling."