Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend my colleagues, Senators Malcolm Byrne and Wall, on the work they have done on this issue and all the Senators who I hope will support this Bill unanimously. I hope the Minister of State has come here with open ears and with a spirit of embracing this initiative from Senator Malcolm Byrne, which is supported by the Fianna Fáil group and, hopefully, by Members across the House.

I was first elected to Dublin City Council in 2004. It is the largest local authority in the city. I speak on this subject not just as a former city councillor but also as a resident in the city. I reside in Dublin Central and every year the north inner city appears as a litter black spot on the Irish Business Against Litter, IBAL, report. While my colleague, Senator Casey, lives in the beautifully scenic County Wicklow, I like to think that Dublin Central is quite scenic too.There are many beauty spots in the Dublin Central constituency. There is the Royal Canal, the Phoenix Park, Griffith Park and Drumcondra Park and even the inner-city parks like Mountjoy Square, and in around the courts at Green Street. We have a great deal of beauty in our city but it is destroyed, degraded and undermined by illegal dumping. We have fought this issue and to be fair to Dublin City Council, it is spending more than €1 million every year dealing with and trying to respond to illegal dumping. The illegal dumping can be anything from what was described by Senator McGahon as the takeaway food wrappers and foodstuffs, to mattresses, fridges, clothes, electrical items and recyclables. Some people seem to act as if the streets of Dublin are an actual dump. They travel into Dublin Central and treat it as if it is a municipal dump. They consider it as a destination. It is probably one of their favourites on Google maps.

To be fair to the city council, staff are out sweeping the streets and picking up rubbish but it is an endless task and futile activity because no sooner have they cleaned it up but there is more dumping. They are doing this in the context of a city that has enormous footfall. We have people coming to O’Connell Street, the GPO, Henry Street, Croke Park and all of our attractions such as the Hugh Lane Gallery and it is impossible for the city council to both do the job of ordinary street cleaning and deal with the illegal dumping. The council is supplemented and supported by city residents and businesses. To every business owner, it is a cost to have to clean up outside of their property on their street and they do it willingly. They get up early in the mornings, pay their staff extra and do this on a daily basis because they know that it detracts not only from their business but from the street. The thought of having to walk through dirt and wondering what is there actively discourages people from coming into the city. Residents living in the city are giving of their time, after a long week of work no more than the rest of us, on a Saturday where they go along the canals and into the parks and along our beautiful Tolka River and pick up bags of rubbish. They are picking up so much of this, and of illegal dumping, that the city council has to send trucks to pick it up. This is indisputable.

During the pandemic alone, the city council said that it believes there is at least a 30% increase in illegal dumping in the city. The problem is indisputable. It has proven intractable to resolve using all of the resources that are already available so this legislation is needed.

The legislation is very prudent and focused. I commend Senator Malcolm Byrne on taking the approach of this legislation being discreet, measured and very controlled. It clearly sets out that the local authority will authorise use of technology. We use technology for speeding and to police our public spaces and we need to use the technology that is available for this purpose. The legislation sets out that the local authorities will have to have a prescribed code of practice and requires that that code of practice will be fit for purpose, legally compliant, GDPR-compliant and compliant with all of the human rights and equality legislation. It will provide for confidentiality, security, storage, access and the retention of data. This is comprehensive, fit-for-purpose, is completely proportionate and is completely necessary.

In the Minister of State’s response, I very much hope that he will be able to advise the House, not only that he supports the legislation but on how he is going to bring this legislation forward in an accelerated manner because it is long overdue. Gabhaim buíochas.