Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Naughten, to the House.I commend Senator Ardagh on the Bill. It is a simple Bill in its practicality and we all broadly support the thrust of it. The debate is necessary. All of us, as public representatives and citizens, must aspire to have our cities, towns, places of residence and communities litter-free so they are places we can be proud of. I come back to the polluter-pays principle. Those who litter should be made to pay. I listened to Senator Conway-Walsh referring to people making choices about the payment and the pay-per-weight. There is a responsibility on the individual citizen whether it is, as Senator Ardagh referred to, in terms of dog fouling, chewing gum, tossing stuff out of a car window, fly-tipping or the illegal dumping of rubbish. There is a personal choice irrespective of income. We need to take responsibility individually and collectively as a State through the city and county councils and the Departments. We cannot say it is about making a choice to pay bills and not to pay for waste. It is too simplistic in its approach. There is a responsibility on individuals to ensure their space and communities are littler-free and that we take pride in our communities. I was at a Pride in our Community event in Cork recently, which is a competition being run by Cork County Council, and which is in its 13th year. Communities are involved in enhancing public space. In my area, people in Douglas Tidy Towns work hard each year to try to improve their locality. They are volunteers going out across the community, picking up litter, planting shrubbery and improving their area. In my area of Bishopstown, I commend the local business association which is beginning to put together a group dedicated to improving public space.

We have an issue with dog fouling. There needs to be a concerted campaign on the issue. It goes back to my comment earlier that people must take responsibility. I am not a dog owner but I know there are many dog owners who do, as Senator Ardagh said, pick up after their dog and resist the temptation to fly-tip. We need to look at the matter. I am conscious that in my city of Cork, the city council spent almost €33,000 on a campaign to create awareness by putting up posters about a €150 fine and providing receptacles and bags. It is also about ensuring we have people prosecuted. There was only one fine issued by the city council over a number of years. It is not just about prosecuting or increasing the fine, which Senator Ardagh is proposing in her Bill. It is also about working with organisations such as Irish Business Against Litter which runs a very successful, high-octane campaign. Some of its results make for unsavoury reading and others can bask in the glory of seeing their areas improve and being litter-free zones.

We talk about the public realm a lot. I will refer to the issue of the city of Cork which I am from. The revitalisation and improvement of the streetscape by two groups, Mad about Cork and Reimagine Cork, should be warmly complimented and used as a pilot across the country. They are volunteers coming out onto the streets of our city in Cork with creativity, imagination and energy to create an uplift in the city for spaces that are dark, damp, derelict, dirty or unclean. It is about regeneration and rejuvenation of the city through street art and murals or by painting over old ESB junction boxes. It is about making the city look attractive. If one walks through certain parts of the city, one sees window boxes and colourful displays and one gets a lift and feels warmth. There is a sense of pride in one's city. These are people working collectively to improve our city. It has been going on for two years and it is an important issue. It is one we need to recognise in the House. I invite the Minister to Cork to meet with these people who are volunteers but who are doing a huge amount of work.

We have another issue with gum. There has been a local authority gum litter task force. Irish Business Against Litter described gum as a pernicious source of litter. We have spent an enormous amount of money in Cork City Council on removing gum from our streets. It leaves a lasting impression. If one walks along many of our city streets or through towns, one will see its legacy on the footpaths. People might think I am being negative but there is a responsibility on the individual in the disposal of waste and to be more careful, particularly with chewing gum.

I am glad the Government is working with Senator Ardagh to ensure the Bill will be added to the suite of measures under the 1997 Act, which is important. We need to look collectively at the approach in terms of policy and awareness campaigns and to become more in tune with society and engage with society and people. We had the Tidy Towns competition which is a very important element in our improvement of our areas. I referred to the very significant level of volunteerism in many of our Tidy Towns groups which work at the most extraordinary times of the day and night and they deserve credit. We need to look at the blight of litter in our communities and in particular illegal dumping in rural Ireland. We are an island that needs tourists and the tourism sector. We all have a role to play in making sure we have a better, cleaner society and country.