Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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58. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the measures undertaken by local authorities in terms of CCTV monitoring of illegal dumping, including dog fouling, since the enactment of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022, in tabular form. [20689/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Local authorities are currently not in a position to use CCTV to monitor illegal dumping.

In order to address data protection concerns, Sections 22 & 33 of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 require that the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) prepare and submit to me, in my role as Minister, for approval, draft codes of practice for the purpose of setting standards for the operation of CCTV and other mobile recording devices, in order to deter environmental pollution and facilitate the prevention, detection, and prosecution of littering (Section 33) and illegal dumping (Section 22) offences. The preparation of Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) is also required as part of this process, which the LGMA are currently progressing.

The draft Codes of Practice will be submitted to me by the LGMA for approval as soon as practicable. Once approved, local authorities will then be able to put in place both litter and waste enforcement measures involving the GDPR-compliant use of technologies such as CCTV.