By 
BY EMMET McELHATTON
e.mcelhatton@ulsterherald.com
AN Omagh man feels “completely let down” by the local council after his two dogs were injured by broken glass in St Julian’s Park, despite his sustained appeals for authorities to address the littering problems in the area.
As a result of two separate incidents that occurred while out walking his pets within a single week, Cathal Judge (21) had to pay £200 to the vet to have glass removed from their paws.
Speaking to the UH, Cathal said, “I live just beside the park and there has been broken glass strewn along the walkways for long time – it was an accident waiting to happen.”
Cathal says he brought the problem to the council’s attention when he first noticed it, but he was disappointed when his concerns were met with indifference.
“I spoke with a few different people but nobody seemed to care – the message I was getting was that they either didn’t think it was their job to maintain the pathways at St Julian’s, or else they couldn’t be bothered doing their job.”
Cathal was disheartened by the apathetic response of the council and had given up trying, when over the course of a week, he and his canine friends became victims of what Cathal had long foreseen.
A Facebook post describing the incidents and airing his discontent elicited strong local reaction, his condemnation of the perpetrators and disappointment with local authorities seemingly shared by many.
As a consequence of the post, in which local councillors and MLAs were tagged, Cathal has received assurance from several representatives that his voice has eventually been heard and that the problem will be now be addressed.
In response, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC) said it undertook a regular cleansing routine throughout Omagh town and endeavoured to keep all areas of the town clean and safe within existing resources.
A spokesperson added, “St Julian’s Park is cleaned and inspected twice weekly and during busy periods three times weekly. Unfortunately, we have experienced a lot of abuse of our public spaces recently with a large amount of broken glass and litter being evident.”