Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome him to the House. I salute his commitment to local government and to reforming this particular area. I also thank the Labour Party and Senator Wall for bringing this very important Bill before the House.

For a long time I have said that GDPR is extremely important. The GDPR legislation was brought in for very good reasons but there are times when it has unintended consequences and, in my view, illegal dumping is one of those situations. I do not think there is any right-minded person in this country who wants those who wantonly leave litter on our beautiful landscape to get away with doing so. I think most people would want whatever modern technologies are available to deal with the issue, to collect the evidence and to bring the people responsible to court. I agree with my colleague, Senator Cummins, that there are modern drones. I am glad that some local authorities are using drones now. I am glad that there is a legislative framework to facilitate the use of drones because they can be very effective, particularly when illegal dumping is done in areas that are difficult to reach and where it is difficult to install fixed CCTV equipment. It is in that sense that this legislation is important. I am glad that Second Stage is not being opposed and that the legislation will move to Committee Stage where there can be intense engagement to ensure that Senator Wall's Bill does not have unintended consequences as is often the case with legislation.

I come from an area that is blessed with beautiful beaches and a number of them have been awarded the blue flag. Unfortunately, particularly during fine weather, quite an amount of litter is left on these beaches and I call on people not do litter. When people litter it sends out a terrible message and shows they do not value a beach and their act has a negative impact on the experience of people who travel to our beaches. Last summer, during beautiful weather, thousands of people visited County Clare and enjoyed the local beaches but, sadly, a minority of people left their rubbish behind. I often visit the beaches early in the morning and it is terrible to see Clare County Council staff in the process of cleaning the beaches. They are so dedicated and quickly transform the beaches back to their pristine condition but they should not have to do such work.

We need to address legislation because we need to increase on-the-spot fines and deal with repeat offenders. Sadly, because we do not benefit from the type of CCTV coverage and other modern technologies it is very hard to catch repeat offenders because unless there is incontrovertible evidence one is not going to get a prosecution. Plus, the local authorities will not even pursue the matter because they know they will not get a prosecution.

I wish to pay tribute to the hundreds of Tidy Town groups around the country for continuing to clean their communities during the pandemic. They have ensured that the entrances to towns, streets and estates around towns are kept clean. Incrementally, year-on-year, Ireland has become a prettier and cleaner place because of the work done by thousands of dedicated volunteers in Tidy Towns groups.They are selfless in the work they do and they sometimes go unrecognised but the Tidy Towns programme, which is supported by the Government and SuperValu, is very worthwhile and has achieved a lot. In a similar vein, I pay tribute to Irish Business Against Litter, which was founded and is funded by Tom Cavanagh who has spent summer holidays in Lahinch over the years. Its surveys have certainly informed the commentary on our cities, large urban towns and small communities. The group has played a significant role in monitoring and keeping an eye on our communities and in ensuring that they have something to aspire to.

There is a tremendous amount of goodwill out there but, sadly, there are also many people who do not have respect for our environment, beaches and communities, their neighbours and the people who live in or visit their communities. This is a worthwhile debate and I invite the Minister of State to return for statements on littering at some stage in the near future. We also look forward to debate on Committee Stage of Senator Wall's Bill.