Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. It is disappointing not one of the relevant Ministers or Minister of State can take this issue, but I appreciate that the Minister of State is here. I raise the ongoing problem of illegal dumping and littering. The Minister of State will be familiar with it in areas of west Limerick. It is the bane of local development groups, Tidy Towns associations and so on. I am frustrated because I brought in legislation on this. That was then folded into the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022. This is the third time I have raised the issue as a Commencement matter. The Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, was before the House in October when I last raised this issue. He indicated agreement was being rolled out on the provisions regarding the use of CCTV and other technologies to help combat illegal dumping and littering that are part of the aforementioned Act. There had been discussions with the Data Protection Commission, DPC, and the Local Government Management Association, LGMA. The Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, indicated that by early this year, the agreement with the LGMA would be concluded and sent to every local authority. It would then be a matter for the elected members to adopt the scheme, as was agreed, and that from this spring and summer, local authorities could effectively use CCTV and other technologies with a framework in place that ensured the use adhered to the necessary data protection provisions.

The present Minister of State is very aware of this, as Limerick City and Country Council fell foul of some of the provisions in that regards. However, the intention behind what local authorities and others are trying to do is to catch the small number of individuals who are a scourge and are causing huge environmental damage to urban and rural areas. This sort of dumping presents a real risk to livestock and animals and must be tackled. I am frustrated because we keep being told it is a priority, yet local authorities that want to roll out this technology have not yet got the go-ahead on this. I hope the reply provided to the Minister of State by the Department will advise the Government has been making good on the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth's promise. He said this will be provided to all local authorities in early 2023. We are near the end of the first quarter and I judge that to be "early 2023". We must have the necessary framework to allow these technologies to be used alongside a major anti-littering and anti-dumping campaign. We must give local authorities, development associations and Tidy Towns groups the necessary resources to make certain this scourge finally stops.

I will not be happy if we are again told negotiations are happening on this. That is why we passed the legislation, why the framework was meant to be agreed and why negotiations were entered into with the DPC. I hope the Minister has a much clearer answer on the timeframe and, more importantly, that local authorities will be told they can get on with this work.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I beg the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach's indulgence with regard to the first point the Senator raised. I have been a Minister of State for seven years now and I must say things do not change. I am asked to come in and read out a script. To be quite honest, it is a permanent feature of how this House has unfortunately been operating that Senators are raising really important issues that deserve answers from the people who actually have policy control of the issues, but Members of this House are not getting such answers. Through the Chair, if I were a Senator, I would not believe this to be acceptable behaviour on an ongoing basis. I said it the last time I was here and will say again the House needs to reform the issue in relation to Commencement debates. It is not fair to Senators, it is not fair the public for whom Senators are raising the issues and is not fair to the Minister of State who has absolutely no knowledge, from a policy point of view, of what is being raised but is expected to respond to it. I say that in deference to my colleagues in government.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State. Of course, he is in a position of influence himself-----

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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-----and it is to be hoped he will be able to pursue the points he has made at a higher level within Government.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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If there is an issue with the Office of Public Works, OPW, and I am not in attendance, I always make a point of asking the Senator whether he or she wishes to defer it to the next possible day.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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We appreciate that.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case for some of my colleagues who have an issue coming into this House. That is regrettable, because I have always found the standard of debate here is far higher. I am eating up my time now.

I thank Senator Malcolm Byrne for raising the matter. It is crucial local authorities have the necessary powers to utilise CCTV and other mobile recording devices to assist them in their efforts to tackle illegal dumping. The Senator was right with regard to Limerick City and Country Council. By way of background, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications received correspondence in 2020 from the DPC outlining concerns over the legal basis for the use of CCTV. On foot of these concerns a commitment was given in Ireland's waste action plan for a circular economy to data-proof all waste enforcement legislation to ensure all available and emerging audiovisual recording equipment, including CCTV, can be utilised.

The Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act enacted in July of last year advanced a number of priority provisions identified in the waste action plan, including providing for the GDPR-compliant use of a range of technologies. The Act facilitates both the use of CCTV and in more limited situations, the use of "mobile recording devices". The Act also provides for the establishment of CCTV schemes under either the Litter Pollution Act or the Waste Management Act. However, the use of other mobile recording devices, such as drones and body cameras, is provided for under another Act. Waste enforcement officers must often deal with significant levels of criminality in the course of their investigative work and can face threats to their own safety. I commend them on their ongoing efforts.

In order to address data protection concerns, the Act also sets a number of conditions which must be complied with prior to the introduction and use of CCTV and other mobile recording devices by local authorities. In particular, the LGMA is required to prepare and submit draft codes of practice to the Minister for approval. These codes will set certain standards for the operation of CCTV schemes and the use of mobile recording devices in deterring environmental pollution and other offences. The LGMA continues to work on the preparation of these codes, which are expected to be finalised this year, and it is continuing to engage with the Data Protection Commission. Following completion of the drafting process, these codes of practice will be submitted to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, for approval. Once approved, local authorities will be advised of the appropriate procedures to be followed and then they will then be in a position to initiate GDPR-compliant measures.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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The Minister of State may have another minute to finish if he needs it.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I apologise, I thought my time was up.

It is important to note the use of these technologies will be restricted to appropriate authorised personnel and will require ongoing justification for installation and usage. The combination of legislation and guidance will help to ensure the processing of personal data can be carried out by local authorities. This will provide an important deterrent to those who brazenly flout our litter and waste legislation.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State. Is Senator Byrne any wiser? He has a minute to respond.

Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State, but there was no need for him to read the reply, because it is a cut-and-paste of the response I received in October 2022.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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It is the circular economy.

Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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Indeed. It is almost the same response I received then, word for word. I am comparing the response I received in October with the one provided to the Minister of State. I do not direct this at him, but very clearly and in spite of all the talk, there is no commitment by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to move on this. There has been no movement in six months on this issue, which I was told was a priority. I beg the Acting Chairperson's indulgence on this to ask how we can get an answer. I respect the Minister of State communicating the problem that is there, but the circulated reply is literally a cut-and-paste of the one I received six months ago. It therefore very clear the Department has done nothing on this. I ask the Minister of State to take that back to it. There has been no progress whatsoever in spite of the commitments. I will look to raise it later on the Order of Business, but frankly this is disgraceful. There was not even an effort to try to jig up or restructure the answer. Paragraphs have literally been lifted from the answer I received last October. As far as this House is concerned, that is not acceptable.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I will certainly relay the Senator's concerns, but there is a bigger issue here-----

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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We will just deal with the topic now.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I will relay the Senator's concerns to the Minister. He mentioned the particular issue in my own constituency, where we have been left in a situation where our local authority was not in compliance with the DPC. The Office of Public Works, for which I am responsible, is in a similar situation.I was in both Houses not too long ago, when the OPW was asked to install CCTV on sites where there is vandalism, littering and other things. That is the very same situation. The sooner this is finalised, from many perspectives, the better.

However, there is a bigger issue. I acknowledge the presence of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, in the Gallery. The bigger issue is that Senators who raise important issues of policy deserve to get answers from the relevant Departments. I am not in a position to give that to the Senator but I will try to make sure those who are in a position to do so communicate directly with him.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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The Minister of State highlighted some important issues. Of course, he is in high office. He is in a position to at least articulate the concerns to the Government that he articulated to us. They are on the record of the House. I look forward to engaging him and others to progress the matter. I thank the Minister of State.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I am sure my colleague, the Minister for Justice, will concur with me.