Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, for engaging with this all-important motion. I thank my colleagues in the Labour Party for bringing it forward. Illegal dumping is something we all face, in both urban and rural areas. It is not confined to either but occurs in both. Living in a city centre, I see a large number of public dustbins being used for domestic refuse. I have seen people posting small bags through the hole in the bin. Even though the holes are now quite small, people still manage to get bags through them. This is an issue we need to tackle nationally.

The motion calls for a bin waiver scheme. In Limerick, such a scheme is in operation. Does it work? It does in some cases but not in all. It is operated out of the resources of the local authority and is aimed at people on very low incomes, including those on the basic State pension. However, people who are on a basic private pension do not qualify for the scheme. There is a discrepancy in that regard. I would love to see a national scheme introduced to support people on lower incomes. There are many people who are asset rich but cash poor. I would like to see those people being looked after, as well as those with disabilities. There are people who genuinely find the cost of refuse collection prohibitive.

I would also like to see a national campaign encouraging dog owners to scoop the poop. A large number of local authorities have no scoop-the-poop bins. Such facilities were previously in place in certain parts of Limerick city but not in others. While the message to dog owners is "any bag, any bin", people are still less inclined to put dog waste into the bigger bin. When the small dog poo bins were available, people used them. In some places around the country, poop bags can be seen hanging off the bottoms of the bins. If people are out for a walk with their dog and forget their bag, it would be helpful if bags were available. Some local authorities do that.

We all want to see cleaner cities and a cleaner countryside. Many farmers have to deal with people throwing plastic waste from their cars. That material is eaten by the farm animals, which is not good for them. We do not see as much illegal dumping as we used to, but it is still happening. Many local authorities had cameras installed but, because of the general data protection regulation, GDPR, they were unable to use the footage as proof of illegal dumping. It was a chicken-and-egg situation. The cameras were there for a valid reason, namely, to catch people engaged in illegal dumping, but the evidence they produced could not be used. That issue has been sorted out to some extent but some people who were caught on camera could not be prosecuted because of the regulations that are in place. The Minister of State might take a look at that issue.

Providing a free recycling service might encourage people to recycle more. Some people still put everything in the one bin. I would like to see some sort of incentive to encourage recycling. Younger people are now educating their parents and grandparents but, for many years, people put everything in the one bin. It is about encouraging and teaching householders to segregate their rubbish.

The sentiment behind the motion represents the right approach. I look forward to the Minister of State's response.