What is believed to be the first prosecution to be brought by a local authority against a motorist for abandoning an old car resulted in a conviction yesterday when the accused failed to appear at Drogheda District Court.
A spokesman for Louth County Council confirmed the council is the first local authority in the Republic to use the provisions of the Act to deal with the problem of older cars being abandoned.
In court yesterday the judge was told by litter warden and county council official Gerard O'Connor that on October 29th last year he found a car with a 1991 registration plate at Westgate Car Park, West Street Drogheda.
The owner was located and the summons under the Waste Management Act 1996 was issued to Thomas Aukstakis, with an address at Navan, Co. Meath.
Judge Flann Brennan imposed a fine of €1,900 along with expenses totalling €395.