Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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53. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the levels of illegal dumping throughout Dublin; the plans the Government has to address this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17742/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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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 awareness, enforcement, clean-up and disposal actions in relation to illegal dumping, taking account of local circumstances and priorities. As such, my Department does not hold information on the levels of illegal dumping occurring in individual local authorities. Questions relating to the level of illegal dumping in Dublin should be directed to the relevant local authorities.However, my Department provides significant support to the local authority sector in their efforts to deal with incidences of illegal dumping. Almost €20.5m has been provided to the sector under the Anti-Dumping Initiative (ADI) since it was first introduced in 2017 in order to encourage a collaborative approach between local authorities, community groups and other State Agencies to tackling the problem. Innovative projects, which recognise waste as a resource that can be re-purposed for use in a Circular Economy are particularly encouraged under the Initiative. €2.8m was provided in support of the ADI in 2024 while allocations for 2025 will be finalised shortly.Full details of the amounts provided to the four Dublin local authorities by my Department under the ADI for each of the years 2017 - 2024, including details of the specific projects supported are available at the following website .

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. €7.58m was provided to local authorities under the scheme in 2024, including over €1.8m to the four Dublin local authorities, while a further €7.7m has been allocated in support of the scheme in 2025.