Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, back to the House.

Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

From the outset, I wish to be clear that I fully support and commend all Government schemes and funding streams aimed at anti-littering efforts and environmental awareness. These initiatives have a huge impact in local communities. I have seen this first hand in Tallaght where there has been an impressive growth in Tidy Towns groups and community clean-up initiatives, supported by South Dublin County Council. Currently, applications are open for the 2025 anti-litter anti-graffiti awareness grant, which is a good support for individuals, schools and community organisations seeking to raise awareness around littering and graffiti. This is a valuable initiative that complements the proactive work being done on the ground in our area. South Dublin County Council has developed and is implementing a strong litter management plan. This plan focuses on the enforcement of existing litter legislation, maintenance on enhancement of our public realm, and education and awareness to foster lasting behavioural change.

This leads me to Irish Business Against Litter, IBAL. From the outset, I wish to be clear that I am in agreement with the ethos behind IBAL, and I acknowledge that the core reason it was set up was its founder's firm belief that all citizens have the right to a clean-living environment, something I not only believe but I actively contribute to by volunteering with various Tidy Town groups across Tallaght. The Minister of State can imagine my surprise when I saw the most recent anti-litter survey rating Tallaght as 38 out of 40 towns. I do not deny that, like all areas, Tallaght does have litter issues, but to be ranked 38 out of 40 led me to do some research. I noted that, this year, the areas that were inspected where all in extremely close proximity of each other, and inspections did not seem to venture near the Tallaght village or any of our industrial estates, given that this is a business-focused survey. I found this to be odd, and it certainly was not a broad coverage of Tallaght, which leads me to be of the opinion that Tallaght was not accurately inspected.

Tallaght is often misunderstood or unfairly characterised. Surveys like this only worsen those misconceptions. We have some of the finest parks, beautiful green spaces and a historic village that our community takes immense pride in. Tallaght receives thousands of volunteer hours and significant investment from South Dublin County Council to ensure it is kept looking so well.

As public funds are allocated to IBAL, it is essential that there is appropriate oversight of how it conducts its work, particularly regarding the methodology used in surveys, the consistency and fairness of area selections and the impact such rankings have on community perception and morale. Is there a mechanism to review the methodology IBAL uses? Are there plans to engage with communities before such reports are published to allow them to respond or offer clarification? These rankings do not exist in a vacuum; they are widely reported. They have the power to shape public opinion, investment perception and even community pride. Therefore, accuracy, fairness and transparency are not just important, they are essential. On this occasion, Tallaght deserved better.

I ask IBAL and the Minister of State's Department to reconsider how areas like Tallaght are evaluated, given its size and scale, to ensure broad coverage is achieved. I commend South Dublin County Council, our residents’ associations, Tidy Towns groups and the many volunteers who work hard every single day to keep Tallaght looking so well. They deserve recognition, not discouragement. Tallaght is a proud and vibrant community. Let us ensure it is fairly represented and properly evaluated in all national surveys and reports.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I acknowledge the visit of Stillorgan College of Further Education. I hope they enjoy their tour of the Oireachtas. They are in safe hands with services officer, Jack. I wish them the best of luck. If they were in secondary school, we would let them off homework for the rest of the week.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I met the group in the corridor earlier. I thank them for being here. I wish them an enjoyable visit.

I thank Senator Costello for raising this matter. Under the Litter Pollution Act 1997, the primary responsibility for management and enforcement responses to litter pollution lies with local authorities. It is a matter for each local authority to determine the most appropriate public awareness enforcement and clean-up actions relating to litter, while taking account of local circumstances and priorities. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Deputy O'Brien. The Department provides financial support to local authority efforts to tackle litter through the anti-litter anti-graffiti awareness scheme. Last year, €750,000 was provided under the scheme. The same will be available this year. Funding is also provided in support of a number of important anti-litter initiatives, including the national spring clean, Picker Pals, the PURE project and the Irish Business Against Litter campaign.The Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, which was enacted in 2022, advances several legislative provisions that would further support local authorities in their anti-litter efforts, including the GDPR-compliant use of a range of technologies such as CCTV for litter enforcement purposes.

Senator Costello raised the issue of IBAL. The Department provided funding of €40,000 a year to An Taisce for the past number of years to undertake the service on behalf of IBAL. However, the Department has no control over the methodology used or the area surveyed, which is entirely a matter for IBAL and An Taisce. IBAL provides independent commentary on the litter picture in 40 towns and cities across the country, and it is entirely appropriate that the Department has no involvement.

Like Senator Costello, I wish to give my thanks to the many volunteers in her area of Tallaght who take immense pride in the work that they do. I understand her frustration and concerns around the projections and commentary. The important point I would make from the perspective of the Department and the Government is that a number of other important anti-litter measures are ongoing, for example, the deposit return scheme, which has had a very strong start in its first year and is now achieving high returns, with the average weekly returns exceeding 25 million containers, demonstrating a high level of public participation in the scheme. To date, over 1.53 billion containers have been return, with €262 million in deposits refunded to customers. That is an extraordinary amount of money. According to the latest IBAL study results, there has been a very significant fall in the prevalence of plastic bottles and cans in the 500-plus sites since the deposit return scheme was introduced last year. As we know, the deposit return scheme is an effective litter prevention measure. Furthermore, the IBAL results show that more towns are classified as clean, with only four areas classified as littered or seriously littered, the lowest level in five years.

More broadly speaking, significant funding has been provided by the Department to combat waste and littering year on year, including €20 million in anti-dumping measures since 2017, which funds 1,500 projects nationwide; €150 million since 2003 to support the provision and retention of local authority waste staff, including an allocation of €7 million to local authorities under the waste enforcement measures grant scheme; a further €3.8 million allocated last year to support the expansion of the role and staffing complement of the waste enforcement regional lead authorities, and the ongoing development of the new waste programme co-ordination office in a circular economy; and €20 million since 1997 in the cofunding of local authority anti-litter awareness and education initiatives, including €750,000 under this scheme in 2024.

The important point to make is that Senator Costello should perhaps engage with IBAL herself. I would encourage her to do so. She is right; there is a lot of anti-litter education work being done in the Tallaght area, and I would hope that residents and those volunteers working with South Dublin County Council can work to ensure they continue to improve their area. It is through anti-litter awareness and education initiatives that we can see everybody engaging in the process properly.

Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Minister of State. If it is receiving funding, its methodology needs to be reviewed and scrutinised. This is the comprehensive litter management plan South Dublin County Council has implemented. I really have no concerns about the standard of work from South Dublin County Council with regard to litter management. I am very proud of the volunteering that is done by our community. What I am concerned about is the misrepresentation of my community. When I asked a colleague on my way down whether he thought Tallaght was dirty because we had been ranked 38th out of 40, he said "Absolutely" because that was the impression being given. I disagree. The report is inaccurate and does not represent Tallaght accurately. I am really annoyed about it because it is giving a wrong impression of Tallaght. I do not accept it and I will be contacting IBAL about this. It was a lazy inspection because it covered very little of Tallaght.

I am not happy with the answer. I would rather see if a little bit of investigation could be carried out as a mark of respect to South Dublin County Council and my community of Tallaght.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I hear the Senator's frustration and understand her annoyance, given that there is a lot of voluntary work being done by people that is not being appreciated in this instance. I know the Senator is not happy with the reply but there is an independence. The Department has no involvement. For the Senator's information, the Department provides annual funding to IBAL towards the cost of its annual business against litter campaign but there is that line of separation.

I believe the An Taisce methodology involved attributing a cleanliness rating to each town or city based on a number of sites assessed. The Senator knows best with regard to Tallaght; I have not got that information. If 80% of sites in a town are virtually free of litter, the town is deemed clean by European norms, and the reference to European norms is based on specific research conducted by An Taisce on behalf of IBAL with regard to cleanliness levels in cities across Europe.

I will bring the Senator's concerns back to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, but I would encourage her, given the depth of her feeling, to engage with IBAL itself. It is important that we applaud the efforts being made by people in Tallaght, and we will work with them and South Dublin County Council to improve. We can all improve, no matter what area we are in. None of us is 100% perfect.