Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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495. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide the amount spent on removing chewing gum-sticky substances from streets and footpaths in each local authority area in the past five years; the amount spent here as a whole; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45823/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Litter Pollution Acts 1997 to 2009 provide the statutory framework to combat litter problems . Under the Acts, the primary management and enforcement response to littering, including that of gum litter, is in the first instance a matter for local authorities. It is a matter for each local authority to determine the most appropriate course of action to tackle litter pollution locally, within the legislation provided, including the most appropriate public awareness, enforcement and clean - up actions in relation to litter, taking account of its own local circumstances and priorities. In 2013, nationally, local authorities expended a total in excess of €82 million on street cleaning activities; however, my Department does not collect the more detailed information sought.

In the period 2010 – 2014 inclusive, my Department provided a total of in excess of €8.26 million in funding for the National Litter Pollution Monitoring System, litter related grants to local authorities, An Taisce (National Spring Clean) and Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL). A breakdown of the payments is set out in the table below. A county breakdown of allocations under the Litter Awareness Grants for the period in question is available on my Department’s website, at the following link:

Department’s Expenditure on Litter 2010 - 2014