Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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This issue is by no means the most important before us, but it is a regular niggle. I have been approached by one of the many groups in my constituency involved in the Tidy Towns competition. In Clondalkin, Palmerstown and Lucan there are active Tidy Towns groups which have done a great deal to improve the public ambiance of our area and I greatly appreciate their work. In other parts of the greater Dublin area various groups, including businesses, have done a great deal to improve the layout of their areas. However, one scourge that affects a great number of places in Dublin and other parts of the country, with which I am not so familiar, is graffiti which undermines the work of the many people who have done so much to deal with the litter problem in Dublin and its environs. It also damages the reputation of the city. The Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar, previously held the tourism brief and knows how important it is to present ourselves in the best light. In asking that the graffiti issue be tackled, I am doing something that will be of general benefit to the city and the country as a whole. It costs the four Dublin local authorities €600,000 per year to tackle the problem. This money could be better spent on other things.

Other cities around the world have a problem with graffiti and some have come up with innovative ideas to tackle it. I would appreciate it if this information could be passed on to the relevant Minister, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly. In Chicago the sale of aerosol cans is restricted to those over 18 years and people must provide pictorial evidence of identity and sign for the cans purchased. That would help to tackle the issue, although I assume legislation or by-laws would help to deal with it also. I would be grateful if we could make some moves toward sorting out this problem.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly. I assure the Deputy that I am fully aware of the blight on communities which graffiti causes, both in the greater Dublin area and nationally, and that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government is totally committed to tackling the issues of graffiti and vandalism.

Under the Litter Pollution Acts 1997 to 2009, primary responsibility for management and enforcement responses to litter pollution, including the defacement of structures by writing or other marks, lies with local authorities. The role of the Department of the Environment, Community 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 the most appropriate public awareness and clean-up actions for graffiti, taking account of local circumstances and priorities. Each local authority must determine the level of expenditure on individual local services as part of its annual estimates process and prioritise its resources accordingly.

Section 19 of the Litter Pollution Act 1997 makes it an offence to deface property visible from a public place without the written authority of the relevant owner, occupier or person in charge. A local authority or its agents may, on such terms and conditions as may be agreed by it with the occupier, enter and take remedial action to remove or otherwise remedy the defacement.

Section 20 is a complementary provision that enables a local authority, in the interests of amenity or of the environment, to take remedial action against graffiti, irrespective of whether it has been put up with the consent of the owner or occupier. The local authority may serve a notice on the occupier requiring steps to be taken to remove or otherwise remedy the defacement in a specified period of not less than seven days. Failure to comply with a notice is an offence. In the case of an offence, the local authority may give effect to the notice and recover costs. The local authority may also, by arrangement with the occupier, take steps to remedy the defacement. It is an offence to obstruct or impede a local authority in its actions under sections 19 and 20.

Maximum penalties attaching to littering and graffiti offences are substantial and include an on-the-spot fine of €150. The Protection of the Environment Act 2003 introduced the possibility of conviction on indictment for litter and graffiti offences with a maximum fine of €130,000. The maximum fine for summary conviction in the District Court is €3,000.

In addition to the Litter Pollution Acts, the Criminal Damage Act 1991 also provides for the offences of damaging or defacing property. The Garda takes the defacing of and damage to property very seriously and, when such offences are detected, perpetrators are processed through the courts or via the juvenile liaison system, as appropriate.

As part of the overall response in dealing with graffiti the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government operates an anti-litter and anti-graffiti awareness grant scheme whereby local authorities can apply for funding for projects aimed at raising awareness of litter and graffiti issues in their functional areas. Under the scheme, the maximum grant allowed per project may be up to 70% of the cost involved. Local authorities are asked to focus their activities under the scheme on young people and in particular on schools and community groups with an emphasis on encouraging long-term behavioural change.

Grants can cover a broad range of measures to raise public awareness and to stimulate anti-litter and anti-graffiti activity at local level. Measures such as local clean-ups, primary and secondary school competitions, the provision of anti-litter and anti-graffiti materials, videos, posters, information leaflets, and anti-litter and anti-graffiti exhibitions are eligible for grant aid. In excess of €840,000 was allocated to local authorities from the environment fund under this scheme in 2014.

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, is aware of the issues arising for communities where graffiti presents a significant challenge. In addition to the measures outlined earlier, there is also the website, www.fixyourstreet.ie, a service launched in August 2011 whereby non-emergency issues can be reported to a local council. Fixyourstreet.ieconsists of a publicly accessible website with associated mobile technologies on which issues such as graffiti, road defects, street lighting, water leaks, drainage issues and litter or illegal dumping can be reported.

The solution to graffiti lies in a combination of different approaches, including education to promote individuals taking responsibility for the behaviour and anti-graffiti initiatives supported by the Department, as well as enforcement through the Litter Pollution Acts and, where appropriate, the Criminal Damage Act. The Minister is satisfied local authorities have adequate powers under the Litter Pollution Acts 1997 and 2009 to tackle the problem of graffiti and have adequate resources to discharge their responsibilities.

Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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The Minister has a slightly longer version of the circulated reply.

I appreciate the reply. I know anyone putting up graffiti is breaking the law with measures in place that can be taken against them and there have been cases where this has happened. However, an alternative approach is needed such as restricting access to aerosols. Not having access to the materials used to put graffiti up would have a positive and beneficial impact on our environment. There are two ways in which this problem could be addressed, one is the legal route in terms of the application of fines etc. and the other is to restrict access to the materials used by graffiti - I should not say artists - but the Minister knows what I mean. That would have a beneficial impact on the city and indeed the country. I would appreciate if this could be passed on to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy and share his concern about the blight graffiti can have on communities. I will ensure the Minister, Deputy Kelly, is advised of the Deputy’s comments in this debate.