Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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120.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if there is a process in place to support, encourage and monitor use by local authorities of CCTV and mobile recording devices (drones) to assist in tackling fly-tipping and dumping, as provided for in the Circular Economy Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[35250/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The legislation allowing for the installation and usage of CCTV for litter and waste enforcement purposes required that the Local Government Management Agency submit to the Minister for approval, separate Codes of Practice for the operation of CCTV schemes under the Litter Pollution Act and the Waste Management Act and a further Code of Practice for the use of "mobile recording devices" (e.g. drones) under the Waste Management Act. These Codes of Practice were approved in January 2024 and the relevant sections of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act were commenced on 15th February 2024.

It has been open to all local authorities since that date to begin the process of putting the required procedures in place to allow for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant use of CCTV and other mobile recording devices to combat litter and illegal dumping.

While the primary responsibility for management and enforcement responses to littering and illegal dumping, including any decision to deploy CCTV or other technologies, lies with local authorities, my Department continues to provide extensive financial, policy and legislative support to the local authority sector to support their enforcement efforts.

Almost €18 million has been provided to local authorities under the Anti-Dumping Initiative (ADI) since it was first introduced in 2017, including over €2.8 million in 2023, to encourage a collaborative approach between local authorities, community groups and other State Agencies to tackling the problem of illegal dumping. Funding provided under the ADI can be utilised by local authorities to purchase CCTV and other Audio-Visual Recording (AVR) Equipment and to put in place enforcement measures involving the use of such equipment. €3 million has been allocated to local authorities under the ADI in 2024. It is a matter for the local authorities to apply for this funding through the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities (WERLAs), who administer the scheme on behalf of my Department.

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. €7.7 million has been allocated to local authorities under this scheme in 2024.

A further €3.8 million has been allocated in 2024 to support the enhancement of the role, responsibilities and staffing complement of the three WERLAs and to support the ongoing development of the new Local Authority Waste Programme Coordination Office. My Department has agreed to support these measures in order to position the local authority sector to better respond to emerging and priority enforcement challenges, including tackling the scourge of illegal dumping.