Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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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.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Lynch for raising the issue of litter pollution, a matter in which I also have a very keen interest. The Litter Pollution Acts 1997 to 2009 provide the statutory framework to combat litter effectively. Under the Acts, the primary management and enforcement response to littering must come from the local authorities. The role of my Department is to provide the legislative framework and, within the prevailing funding constraints, to provide some limited financial support to local authorities for their enforcement efforts. As independent statutory bodies with democratically elected councils and their own management system, it is a matter for each local authority to determine the most appropriate course of action, within the legislation provided, to tackle issues of this nature in their own local areas.

Regarding litter on private property, under section 6 of the Litter Pollution Act 1997, it is an offence to allow the build-up of litter on a property that is visible from a public place. Furthermore, if it considers that precautionary measures are required to prevent the creation of litter in its functional area, a local authority may, under section 9 of the Litter Pollution Act, serve a notice on the person concerned requiring the removal of the litter to which the contravention relates or take such other precautionary measures specified in the notice as the local authority considers necessary.

While I am aware of the difficulties that can be caused by the accumulation out of sight of the public of large quantities of litter, an amendment such as that suggested may be deemed unconstitutional as, in the absence of a visible litter problem justifying an intervention, it may be viewed as infringing on a citizen's right to privacy. There are, however, other means to address the issue where it manifests itself in problems other than visible litter. The build-up of significant levels of refuse in the manner outlined by the Deputy would most likely lead to vermin problems. Under the Rats and Mice Destruction Act 1919 - and this is a new one for me - rodent control is the responsibility of the occupier of a premises.

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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The HSE.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Given the public health issues involved, enforcement of the legislation falls to the Health Service Executive. Furthermore, where problems of this nature occur in local authority accommodation, the local authority, in its capacity as landlord, has a responsibility to ensure the property is being maintained in a reasonable condition and does not constitute a health risk. The landlord may in this case insist on making an inspection of the property and ensuring that whatever remedial action is required to deal with the issue is taken.

I am carrying out a review of waste and litter policy and one of the aspects I will be considering is the adequacy of litter fines and litter legislation generally. While it is unlikely that, for the privacy related issues I have indicated, I will be able to amend the Litter Pollution Act to encompass areas that are not in public view, I will certainly consider the matter raised by the Deputy in the context of that review.