Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for granting me leave to raise this Adjournment matter. In particular, I thank the Minister for taking this debate, which I have raised so that I might ask him to amend the Litter Pollution Act 1997 to ensure that local authorities are better equipped to combat the growing problem of illegal dumping. Local authorities can only take action if the illegal dumping is somewhere it can be viewed by the public. The specific language of the Act states that it is illegal for a person to create litter in a public place or in any place that is visible to any extent from a public place. This means that, if people are gathering rubbish in their back garden and it cannot be seen from the road outside their house, the local authority is prohibited from taking an action against that household.

While the phrase's original intention was to empower local authorities to enforce litter pollution laws on private lands that are visible from public places, it has had the unintended effect of facilitating illegal dumping that remains hidden from the public eye. Furthermore, the legislation's wording ignores the fact that a number of other senses are offended by the blight, for example, smells, the sounds of rodents and other nuisances associated with the accumulation of rubbish. This is a serious problem, particularly in areas in which vacant properties have been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair and have become magnets for dumping. Litter wardens should not be prevented from taking action in such cases simply because the waste cannot be seen from a public place.

Where student accommodation is concerned, a landlord is not required to have a waste collection agreement in place. If students move in and do not put a waste collection system in place, their rubbish accumulates in the back garden or to the side of the house. Since it is not visible from the public road, the area's residents must live with it.

I urge the Minister to make the necessary legislative changes so that local authorities are in a stronger position to combat illegal dumping on private property regardless of whether the rubbish can be seen from public places. This is a serious, yet resolvable problem and I look forward to the Minister's response on how he will address it.

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