Residents left waiting as Leitrim clothes banks closure continues without timeline
Due to shifts in the global textile industry, the service provider for Leitrim County Council's clothes banks began imposing substantial costs, which were unaffordable for the Council.
All of Leitrim County Council’s clothes banks shut in January after the contractor pulled out, and there is currently no timeline for their return.
Short-term funding was announced in August, with the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment allocating €1 million to support the sector, including a payment of €1,000 per site. However, according to a Council response, this funding is inadequate to restore the service.
This information came in response to Cllr Pádraig Fallon’s request for an update on the situation with clothes banks and whether the Council would commit to ensuring their return. The reply also stated that the matter could be considered in further detail as part of the 2026 budgetary process.
Cllr Fallon expressed disappointment with the response, saying, “I think we need to think outside the box because we’ve seen in a number of situations where clothes are being dumped at centres regardless, so there’s a clean-up cost associated with that.”
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He added that he has received numerous enquiries about clothes banks and noted severe disappointment among constituents regarding their absence.
Cllr Bohan seconded the motion, noting that many people are now engaged in sustainability and reselling clothes on platforms like Depop.
She said that while these sites serve a purpose, people may still have items that are not resalable, which is where clothes banks were very important.
Vincent Dwyer, Director of Services for Finance and the Environment, explained that the global textile industry is under pressure and that the service provider had been charging the Council very significant costs, which they could not afford.
“We were being charged very significant costs for it. Costs which we can’t afford. It could cost between €60k to €70k to provide that service and that’s not something that’s sustainable for Leitrim County Council. We weren’t in a position to continue with the service,” he said.
He confirmed that the Council will write to the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment to explore a sustainable solution, and added that anyone dumping items in or around Council infrastructure will be issued a litter fine and prosecuted once identified.