Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I warmly congratulate my colleague and good friend, the Minister of State, Deputy Connick, on his appointment. I assure him that Deputy Thomas Byrne and I have had words with a certain journalist who wrote comments in a newspaper last Saturday. Both he and I are absolutely delighted at the Minister of State's elevation. I look forward to working with him.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this issue tonight. I am sure all Members would agree that littering and illegal dumping is becoming a growing problem in every community across the country. This problem, with which we will have to get to grips, has worsened considerably in recent months. From talking to other colleagues it is clear that it is a nationwide problem. A small minority of people who are littering our communities and engaging in illegal dumping are causing a blight on our landscape. We will have to tackle the situation in a meaningful and serious way. From the number of complaints coming to my constituency office and from personal observations the situation is deteriorating. At a time when we are seeking to exploit the economic potential of the tourism industry in this country we need to be careful about the reputation we will get given the level of litter and illegal dumping that is apparent on our streets, country roads and in every community across the country. Recently the West Cork Tourism Co-operative Society Limited managed, after a huge amount of work, to reinstate the Cork to Swansea ferry link, which comes into my constituency in Ringaskiddy in Cork South Central. What impression will it give to tourists arriving there who are driving to west Cork or elsewhere to observe litter and black bags of rubbish dumped at the roadside? That sends out a terrible signal about us as a country. If that is the impression with which people leave this country it is unrealistic to think they will return. In addition, how many people will they tell about their experience?

That gives rise to a number of questions about the level of enforcement by local authorities and the Garda who is also empowered under the legislation to issue on-the-spot fines. It is clear that not enough fines are being issued. Is there a lack of consistency across the country in terms of the number of fines being issued and the level of enforcement? How many cases are being brought to court where people do not pay the on-the-spot fine and one is levied?

I was interested to read that the Probation Service has undertaken an initiative in recent months whereby persons who have been convicted of minor crimes are being required by the courts to do community service and the Probation Service is engaging with local authorities to get those people involved in a graffiti removal programme. My suggestion, which I mentioned to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, is that the Probation Service would extend that idea to get people involved in litter picking and in cleaning our roads and streets. It would be a suitable payback to society if people convicted of minor crimes were required by the courts to carry out community service. I urge the Minister to seriously consider the suggestion.

We must also consider whether a fine of €150 is sufficient. Perhaps it is, but it is not being levied often enough. We are all well aware of the huge amount of voluntary work being done by tidy towns groups around the country, residents associations within estates, community groups and the Irish Business against Litter group. Currently, they are literally swimming against the tide of litter and illegal dumping which is becoming a scourge in society.

We must first acknowledge that the situation is getting worse. Businesses must play their part. Many fast food outlets are still not fulfilling their responsibilities. Vacant local authority housing stock is also a problem. We have had some successes such as the plastic bag levy, for example, but much more needs to be done. The positive suggestion I make tonight is that the Minister would contact the Probation Service with a view to extending the programme of graffiti removal to include picking up litter and cleaning areas affected by illegal dumping.

Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank my colleague and friend, Deputy Michael McGrath, for his good wishes. I also thank him for tabling on the Adjournment this important matter that affects each and every one of us citizens. I am replying on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

Under the Litter Pollution Acts, the primary management and enforcement responses to litter must come from the local authorities. Under this legislation it is the local authorities that are responsible for keeping public places, including public roads, clear of litter as far as is practicably possible. Local authorities take this duty seriously, as is seen in the number of litter fines issued, which have increased from 7,563 in 1998 to 27,825 in 2008, a three and one half fold increase in a ten year period.

In acknowledgement of their role, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has allocated €1.1 million this year from the Environment Fund to provide grants to local authorities for public education and awareness activities in regard to litter and graffiti. The Minister would welcome and will consider any new measures that local authorities might identify to tackle the problems of litter and illegal dumping and his Department will continue to co-operate with the local authorities in dealing with this ongoing issue.

Considerable progress has also been made by the relevant statutory agencies in dealing with illegal waste activity. In particular, since the establishment of the Office of Environmental Enforcement in 2003, enforcement has been better structured through the establishment of a national enforcement network. Annual supporting funding from the environment fund of over €7.5 million has led to some 120 additional local authority enforcement personnel and a greatly enhanced response on the ground. However, litter and dumping problems will only be resolved through a partnership approach in which all sectors, including local authorities, business, community groups, residents' associations, schools and individuals, play their part. To this end, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, has provided financial support from the environment fund to a number of anti-litter initiatives aimed at influencing people's behaviour in regard to their method of disposing of litter. These initiatives include the National Spring Clean campaign, the Irish Business Against Litter league and a grant to the protecting upland and rural environments, PURE, project, which is operating in the Wicklow-Dublin upland area.

The benefits of the support provided to all sections of the community are clear from the improved results presented by both the national litter pollution monitoring system and the Irish Business Against Litter league. These results show a gradual but steady improvement in recent years in regard to the extent of litter pollution countrywide. Under the national litter pollution monitoring system, almost 70% of the country was designated as either litter free or only slightly littered in 2008. Irish Business Against Litter has reported that 65% of towns surveyed are now classified as "clean to European norms".

Despite these achievements, the Minister is aware that litter and illegal dumping continue to present an ongoing challenge. He will continue to monitor trends in litter pollution and, in co-operation with the local authorities, ensure that measures are adopted and resources are focused on those areas where the need for action is greatest.