John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will not need eight minutes. I compliment the Senators involved in bringing forward this Bill. Litter is a major issue not only in cities but also in rural areas which is where I would be more aware of it. Dumping in beauty spots and in drains is widespread and is an increasing phenomenon. One can see empty wine bottles and other items dumped on the grass verges of our public roads and I do not know if they are thrown out of cars. It is farcical sometimes to see local authorities signs warning that people will be fined €3,000 and beside those signs to see black bags of litter increasing by the day. The message that seems to be coming back to us is that people know that they will not be prosecuted. Dog fouling is a major issue as well.

The difficulty we face is to examine how this problem should be dealt with. The necessary legislation is in place as is provision for the imposition of fines and I would not argue about increasing them. The failure to implement the legislation is the problem. If the issue is that not enough people in the local authorities are being designated to deal with the issue, that should be addressed.

The operation of closed circuit television cameras in urban areas is a great deterrent. Obviously, they cannot operate to the same extent in open rural areas. The problem is the lack of implementation of the legislation rather than the size of the fines. In 2014, only €79,000 was paid on litter fines nationwide and, in 2015, that figure increased to €144,000 but amount is minuscule.

The issue needs to be highlighted, which is being done here today, and it needs to be acted on. There has been a great increase in our tourist numbers, but there is no worse a message we can send to tourists than the sight of litter scattered across our beautiful countryside and in our cities.

I commend the Bill. The solution to the problem is the implementation of the legislation but that is certainly not happening at present.