Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. I acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, has been providing a strong lead role, on behalf of the Government, in this area but I am concerned about how long it is taking to put the necessary measures in place to combat the problem of illegal dumping and littering. The Minister of State will be aware I introduced legislation to this House about three years ago with a view to ensuring local authorities could use CCTV, drones and other technology to catch those environmental criminals, and that was subsumed into the circular economy legislation we enacted at the end of 2022. It then took the Local Government Management Association, LGMA, a year to develop a code in line with the requirements of the circular economy Act. In fairness to the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, he acted as soon as he got the information back from the LGMA, signed those regulations into place and circulated them to local authorities.

My problem with the process is that we are continuing to see the problem of illegal dumping in urban and rural areas and the Minister of State will be as familiar with it in County Laois as I am in County Wexford. It frustrates members of the public, Tidy Towns associations, development groups and local councillors and we want to be able to use this new technology, in line with data protection regulations, to catch some of these criminals. On foot of the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, having signed the regulations, I wrote to every local authority to inquire as to how they were progressing. Not all of them responded but among those that did, the level of commitment varied. Some were enthusiastic about being able to tackle this, while others were sitting back and waiting to see what was going to happen next. There was certainly talk about how, on a regional basis, there would be trial surveillance schemes and, in some cases, about there being public consultation and so on.What members of the public, Tidy Towns groups and local councillors are looking for are schemes whereby we can roll out, especially in areas where we know illegal dumping is taking place, CCTV and other technologies that can be used to catch these criminals. Only by making an example of these individuals will we finally see some effort to prevent the scourge of illegal dumping.

When I surveyed local authorities nationally more than two years ago, they estimated the combined total cost of dealing with illegal dumping and littering to all our local authorities was between €90 million and €100 million. It is not just the financial cost. There is the obvious environmental cost, the undoing of the good work of Tidy Towns groups and local community associations, and the potential hazard to animals, pets and livestock. It is just a disgusting practice. I am frustrated at how long it is taking for us to be able to safely, effectively and in line with data protection regulations roll out this technology.

I ask for a commitment that any of the trials and so on that have to be undertaken be done as quickly as possible. I also ask that local authorities be resourced and, if necessary, additional resources be provided to them so they can use CCTV drones and other technologies to help us rid our country of this problem once and for all.