Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will speak in favour of the Sinn Féin motion. Illegal dumping is a scourge in many communities. In my own constituency, illegal dumping has spiralled out of control. Local residents are at their wits' end as they see rubbish appearing daily on their greens, in alleyways and beside public bins. No one is held accountable. Illegal operators act with near impunity and it is the local residents who suffer the sight of their green spaces being covered in domestic waste while their children have nowhere to play.

The local Sinn Féin councillors and Dublin City Council staff are doing all they can in my area but they are fighting a losing battle. There is an illegal dump in my constituency. This dump, in Moatview, is a matter of concern. I wrote to the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, last year to request its assistance urgently in cleaning up this site as the council was struggling to contain this dump, where domestic and industrial waste had been disposed of. The local gardaí were unable to divert resources to assist in the stamping out of dumping because they were already too stretched in the area. We need the Government to treat this issue seriously.

Local authorities across the State successfully managed waste collection for decades before it was privatised. This has resulted in a race to the bottom. We have seen an upsurge in illegal dumping and illegal landfill sites run by rogue operators. Costs are increasing and dumping is getting worse. Bringing waste collection back under council control is a straightforward and progressive solution that would have a significant impact on people and communities.

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