Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a question on the issue of illegal dumping and environmental issues.

I do not want to go into any of them specifically. There is good work being done but a huge problem has arisen in regard to CCTV cameras. Unfortunately, many rural county councils have had to erect cameras at places where there is likely to be dumping taking place, including at bring banks, to stop people from dumping residual waste and to try to manage bring banks better. Typically, it is a mobile set of cameras that moves from location to location. I know the Data Protection Commission has a job to do and I do not want to speak badly of it but it has put the brakes on this measure. This is driving people crazy, not just council officials but also the public. While I do not wish to delay on the point today, will the Department come back to me on this issue, which is very important? Everyone understands the right to privacy and all of that. However, I can assure the Department that communities and people in rural and urban areas where there is illegal dumping taking place, some of it on a commercial basis, have no objection to a couple of small cameras being put up on a temporary basis and moved around from location to location. We have to find a way to deal with this.