Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 338: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to review the 1878 Public Health Ireland Act with a view to increasing the fines imposed for littering on a person's property; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21953/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Litter Pollution Acts 1997 to 2009 provide the statutory framework for combating litter pollution in Ireland. Section 6 of the 1997 Act places an onus on owners and occupiers of property to keep their properties litter free to the extent that they are public places or are visible from a public place. Section 9 of the same Act empowers local authorities to serve a notice on any person contravening the provisions of Section 6, requiring them to remove any litter to which the contravention relates, and/or to take any precautionary measures which the local authority considers necessary.

Penalties for offences under the Litter Pollution Acts 1997 to 2009 are substantial, ranging from an on-the-spot fine of €150, to a maximum fine of €3,000 on summary conviction and a maximum fine of €130,000 on conviction on indictment. The fines for continuing offences following conviction are €600 per day for summary offences and €10,000 per day for indictable offences. A person convicted of a litter offence may also be required by the Courts to pay the local authority's costs and expenses in investigating the offence, taking remedial action to remove the litter and in bringing the prosecution. I have no current plans to increase the level of fines for litter related offences.