Sligo has been named Ireland's cleanest town.
The Yeats County finished ahead of Monaghan and Leixlip in the list, with Waterford, which was named Ireland's cleanest city, coming in fourth place, according to a new survey from business group, Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL).
Overall, it was found that litter levels were found to be similar to last year, with 27 of the 40 towns surveyed deemed to be clean.
Sligo came in for particular praise from An Taisce, who conduct the surveys on behalf of IBAL, praising its top ranking approach roads, "exceptionally freshly presented" Retail Park and the "complete absence of litter" throughout the Great War Memorial Garden.
Elsewhere, only one of the cities surveyed, Limerick City Centre, was branded as "littered" for the first time in 40 years.
But most of the "socially disadvantaged urban areas" were found to be improving each year, with Galway's Ballybane, Dublin north inner city, and Ballymun all progressing from "littered" to "moderately littered".
An Taisce also found that there was a lack of clean cities in the city centre, and a number of sites which were littered heavily on the daily basis, including Mount Kenneth Place and the entrance to Henry Street car park, as well as the recycle facility on Dock Road, the residential area of Grattan Court; and the laneway at Cruises Street car park.
Speaking about this, Conor Horgan of IBAL, said: "As the peak season for tourist visitors approaches, we have fewer littered areas than we've had at any time in the last 25 years".
"We're hopeful that we’re on the cusp of a real breakthrough in disadvantaged areas of Dublin and Cork", he continued. "For 15 years we've been surveying these areas and for the first time we’re seeing evidence of sustained improvement as a result of greater investment from Dublin and Cork City Councils.
"If plans in Dublin for the elimination of domestic waste collection in bags across the inner city are realised, we will have a much cleaner capital city.
"The job's not done, but across the country, local authorities appear to have upped their game when it comes to tackling persistently littered sites and dumping in our towns and cities," Mr Horgan added.
Elsewhere, plastic bottles and can litter were found in 19% and 20% respectively of sites surveyed, which is the highest levels recorded since the Deposit Return Scheme was introduced.
"If we had hoped that the DRS would see this litter disappear from our streets, it's not happening," said Mr Horgan. "15c or 25c does not appear enough to incentivise some people to return a bottle or can.
"That said, by reducing this litter by 50%-plus, the scheme's impact on overall cleanliness levels is beyond dispute".
It was also found the coffee cups were found to be one of the main sources of litter on our streets, including sweep papers, plastic bags, fast food wrappers and cigarette butts. It was found a significant increase in cigarette butt litter since 2025.
Mr Horgan added: "Talk of a 'latte levy' has all but vanished, yet coffee cup litter clearly has not. The Government inaction on this persistent problem is baffling".
