A Limerick councillor has said a new by-law could see it compulsory for poo bags to be attached to dog leads when they are being taken for a walk.
Jerome Scanlan said this is part of efforts to tackle the ongoing issue of dog waste.
He told Lunchtime Live local authorities are doing their part to raise awareness of the problem.
"We've done a lot over the last three months at local authority level to increase awareness... a number of councillors brought a motion to our most recent meeting with regard to green concept, we're also looking at the possibility of a by-law, which would see dog owners have waste dispensers attached to the leash that they carry their dog on."
"We will probably see, maybe, a by-law come in where if somebody has a second or third [infringement] then it can be considered an offence".
He said dog ownership levels seem to have increased with the consecutive lockdowns.
"It's been quite popular to get a dog now, but quite often people don't stop and think about the care aspects of keeping the dog.
"Or indeed the unpleasant parts of it in terms of toileting the dog, etc".
He said while signs from the council have helped, dog wardens are going one step further.
"The dog warden in a lot of cases now actually enters into conversation with the walker and just enquiries if they're carrying a poo bag.
"And if they're not, they're reminded of their responsibility and given a bag".
These are paid for by the local council, as Councillor Scanlan explained.
"We want to clean up the footpaths and it's cheaper [to] give out bags and see the footpaths maintained well, rather than employ people to clean the footpaths".
Asked why dog owners who do not clean up after their animals are not prosecuted, he said this was "short of impossible to achieve".
"Unless you see the dog in the act, and know who owns the dog, you are not going to achieve very much in that".
He added that this is probably something that needs to be debated on a wider level.
"It's awareness, awareness, awareness that we need to get across that people must take the bags.
"I think the concept of the dispenser on the dog collar or the dog lead is something that needs to be discussed - probably on a wider level".
