Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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153. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the amount of illegal dumping, broken down by local authority, in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, in tabular form,; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3903/24]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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157. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the level of illegal dumping in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, broken down by local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3912/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 153 and 157 together.

[3903/24] and [3912/24] together.

Under the Waste Management Act, the primary responsibility for management and enforcement responses to illegal dumping lies with the local authorities. It is a matter for each local authority to determine the most appropriate public awareness, enforcement and clean-up actions in relation to illegal dumping taking account of local circumstances and priorities.

My Department does not collate statistics on the amount or level of illegal dumping taking place across the country. Questions in relation to the levels of illegal dumping in each county should be directed to the relevant local authority.

However, data based on the Environmental Protection Agency’s most recent "Focus on Local Authority Environmental Enforcement Activity Report" indicated that 17,900 investigative inspections relating to illegal dumping were conducted in 2022.

Further information on local authority environmental enforcement activity is available at the following link - www.epa.ie/publications/compliance--enforcement/public-authorities/Focus-on-Local-Authority-Environmental-Enforcement---Performance-Report-2022.pdf

It should be noted that my Department provides significant support to the local authority sector in their efforts to tackle illegal dumping. Almost €18m, including €3m in 2023, has been provided to the sector under the Anti-Dumping Initiative (ADI) since it was first introduced in 2017 to encourage a collaborative approach between local authorities, community groups and other State Agencies to tackling the problem of illegal dumping.

My Department also continues to invest heavily in the local authority waste enforcement network through the Waste Enforcement Measures Grant Scheme, with the intention of maintaining a visible presence of waste enforcement personnel on the ground across the State. €7.7m was provided to local authorities under the scheme in 2023, while a further €1.6m was made provided to support the ongoing enhancement of the three Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities (WERLAs) and the development of the new Local Authority Waste Programme Coordination Office in a Circular Economy.

The Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act has also advanced several legislative provisions to further support local authorities in their efforts to tackle illegal dumping, including providing for the GDPR-compliant use of a range of technologies, such as CCTV for waste enforcement purposes.