Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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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. It is therefore a matter for Cork City Council to decide on whether or not they wish to establish a taskforce to deal with illegal dumping issues in the city.

It should be noted that my Department provides significant support to the local authority sector in their efforts to tackle illegal dumping. Almost €18m 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. A further €3m has been allocated in support of the Initiative in 2024. A project such as that suggested by the Deputy may be eligible for support under the 2024 ADI.

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 and a similar amount has been allocated for 2024. A further €3.78m has been allocated in 2024 to support the expansion of the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities and the ongoing development of the "Local Authority Waste Programme Coordination Office in a Circular Economy".

The Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 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.