There were just 82 dog fouling fines handed out by local authorities across Ireland last year.
Eighteen councils issued no fines at all, while Kerry County Council had the highest number with 27.
In a recent survey, the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) found that dog fouling is a major issue for blind or visually impaired people when using footpaths.
People illegally parking on footpaths was the biggest obstacle, with some people suffering broken ankles and sprained wrists as a result of trying to walk around vehicles.
However, councils have been more proactive in dealing with this issue, with more than 19,000 fines handed out in 2022 for inappropriate parking.
Dublin City Council handed out the most fines with 4,494. Cork City Council dished out 2,337, while Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council gave 2,426.
Councils in Tipperary, Meath and Kildare issued more than 400 each.
Carlow, Leitrim and Roscommon gave no fines at all, with the latter saying it has no traffic warden in the county.
Cavan County Council issued two fines.
The NCBI said inappropriate parking causes a serious hazard for people who are blind as they may be injured walking into traffic to get around a vehicle, injured walking into a car or stepping off footpaths. Its survey found that nearly 40pc of people have been injured because of obstacles on walkways.
Dog fouling was the third biggest obstacle as it can prove a slip hazard and can also be distressful for people who use white canes which can be soiled by faeces.
Data provided to the organisation showed councils in Carlow, Cavan, Donegal, Dublin city, Galway city, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Longford, Meath, Monaghan, Tipperary, Sligo, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow issued no fines for the offence last year.
The other councils issued five or less, except for Cork County Council (17), Fingal County Council (9) and Louth (9).
Some councils said they have provided free pooper scoopers and bins in towns, while others have run messaging campaigns calling for owners to pick up after their pets.
The NCBI launched its Clear Our Paths campaign this week, highlighting the obstacles blind people face.
Aaron Mullaniff, chief services officer with the NCBI, said the dog-fouling data shows councils “can’t be expected to police the issue alone”.
“It’s impractical to think that wardens could observe every single dog owner who doesn’t clean up after their dog and then issue them with a fine,” he said.
“There needs to be significant effort from the public to clean up after their pets in the first instance. It’s imperative that we all work to make our footpaths usable for all members in our communities.
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“Secondly, if councils have noted over 19,000 incidents of inappropriate parking by way of a fine, can you imagine how many undetected instances there are that will pose a real risk to those living with sight loss?
“We’re asking everyone in Ireland to put yourself in a blind or vision-impaired person’s shoes when you’re walking your pets, parking your car, putting out your bins or whatever it might be, and to act in a way that’s considerate to those people’s needs.”
Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithí de Róiste said the public needs to “work harder” to keep paths safe.
“It is important that we take an extra few seconds each day to ensure that our actions do not impact the ability of people who are blind or vision impaired to get out and about safely,” he said.
“Please support Clear Our Paths in whatever way you can: your small gesture can make a huge difference.”