Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the legislative framework for combatting litter pollution and the need to motivate and energise the anti-litter response. I hope I will be one quarter as successful as previous speakers and that Deputy Reilly will return to Balbriggan a satisfied man.

We all aspire to a glas agus glan Ireland. I am a proud representative of Tipperary South and the little town of Emly, which won the award for Ireland's tidiest village in 2009. Last Tuesday, I attended a tidy schools presentation at which the town received another award. An Taisce and other community groups organised spring cleans throughout April with the support of FÁS, county councils and volunteers. I am aware that several of my colleagues were involved in these activities. I attended the launch of the initiative with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, along the canal.

Many schools in my area have qualified for the green flag award. Education is needed alongside legislation. Irish people will not be told what to do and have to be encouraged to work with agencies to create a cleaner, greener and more pleasant environment.

I drive along the motorway between Dublin and Cork at least twice each week. This newly built road cost millions of euro and entailed significant inconvenience to communities along its route, including compulsory purchase orders and land that has not yet been paid for, but the lack of planning on the part of the NRA and county councils for rest facilities is scandalous. The facilities that exist are a joke. People are meant to pull off the road and rest because of the danger of driver fatigue but there is not even a shelter or a place to get out and stretch one's legs. Worst of all, however, there is a lack of rubbish bins or gadgets for holding cigarette butts. I do not smoke but I have no objections to others smoking. One is not supposed to smoke in one's company car. It is not good enough that such disregard is shown to the travelling public.

I welcome the opening of the new motorway between Abbeyleix and Cullahill but it is not acceptable to drive by these places and see them covered in litter. There was no correspondence from county councils regarding the maintenance of these roads. Nobody was responsible for the grit over Christmas or for repairing damaged barriers. When a lorry sheds a tire or waste falls off a truck, nobody picks it up. It is dangerous to leave such items in the bushes because they could blow across the motorway and cause serious accidents. A co-ordinated effort by county councils and the NRA is needed on our national motorways. We want people to come through the North of Ireland and drive to the South and we need to take pride in our good road infrastructure by keeping it clean.

It is a pity that we have become an unclean people. We need to develop imaginative schemes. The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, who has just left the Chamber, is considering imaginative ideas to help the unemployed. There is significant scope for community service. Our prisons are full and people who are serving custodial sentences should be encouraged to do community work. If we ever convict the bankers who destroyed this country, they should be doing this kind of work instead of receiving their choice of menus in prison. We could hoot our horns as we pass them on the motorways and say, "Well done lads for doing something for your country at long last".

Departments, the NRA and local authorities have a lot of work to do in co-ordinating a response to the problem of litter but we cannot allow it to continue damaging tourism and our image abroad.

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Litter Pollution Acts 1997 to 2009 provide the statutory framework to combat the litter problem. Under the Acts, the primary management and enforcement response to littering must come from the local authorities. The role of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is to provide the legislative framework within which they can perform this task. It is a matter for each local authority to decide on the most appropriate public awareness, enforcement and clean-up actions in regard to litter, taking account of local circumstances and priorities. Furthermore, while the ultimate legislative responsibility for the clean up of litter on our streets lies with the local authorities, it must be pointed out that the primary responsibility for keeping our country free of litter lies with each citizen of the State.

Maximum penalties attaching to littering offences are substantial and include an on-the-spot fine of €150. The Protection of the Environment Act 2003 introduced conviction on indictment for litter offences, with a maximum fine of €130,000, and set the maximum fine for summary conviction at €3,000. The 2003 Act also gave local authorities the power to make by-laws in respect of a range of specific litter issues.

However, we recognise that legislative measures alone will not solve the problem. In order to tackle the issue, a multifaceted approach is required, involving all elements of Irish society and incorporating enforcement, public awareness and education. In recent days, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government announced the provision of €1.5 million over a three-year period specifically to assist local authorities in keeping key tourist areas free of litter during the peak summer season. This is the start of a focused anti-litter campaign in which his Department will engage with the Environmental Protection Agency, local authorities, the National Roads Authority and the public.

In addition, the Minister is continuing to provide local authorities with funding to assist in raising awareness of the environmental and economic consequences of littering and graffiti. A total of €1 million has been allocated to local authorities under the anti-litter and anti-graffiti awareness grant scheme in 2010. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government also provides significant funding to several anti-litter initiatives currently in operation in Ireland, including the national spring clean, the green schools programme, the Irish Business Against Litter litter league, Tidy Towns and the protection of the uplands and rural environments - PURE - project.

Much progress has been made in dealing with litter pollution. The 2009 national litter pollution monitoring system report, to be published by the Department shortly, will show a continuing improvement in litter levels across the country. The recent Irish Business against Litter results also point to a steady improvement in litter levels over the period, with 65% of towns surveyed in 2009 deemed to be "clean to European norms", compared to 14% of towns in 2002. However, there is no room for complacency and the Minister will continue to ensure that targeted, energetic anti-litter responses are developed as required.