Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Question 321: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to introduce a nationwide litter awareness initiative; the way he plans to deal with the litter problem across the country, specifically, on rural country roads which do not fall into boundaries of local tidy towns committees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32761/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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In September 2011, I announced that I am preparing a new national anti-litter campaign which will raise awareness of the costs and the consequences of littering. It is intended that this campaign will be launched in spring 2012. At that time, I also announced that, in conjunction with this campaign, I would be introducing further initiatives to assist local authorities in their efforts to tackle litter generally. These include legislation designed to ensure that the punishment fits the crime in all cases and an anti-litter enforcement grant scheme for local authorities to enhance their existing enforcement activities, through measures such as the purchase of CCTV equipment to allow for the effective monitoring of known litter black spots.

In addition to these measures, my Department already has in place an Anti-Litter & Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme, which allows local authorities the opportunity to apply for grant funding for suitable projects, such as adopt a road schemes. €1 million was made available under this Scheme this year and I specifically requested local authorities to investigate the possible roll-out of adopt a road schemes in their functional areas. Of the 34 submissions received from local authorities, 14 have applied for funding of adopt a road type schemes. This represents a significant increase over the 2010 figures, where 6 local authorities had projects of this nature in operation. It is estimated that the total cost of the projects this year will be in excess of €90,000, compared to approximately €33,000 in 2010.