asked the Minister for the Environment (1) the total cost of the litter warden service since litter wardens were first appointed; (2) the total number of successful prosecutions for dropping litter since the service was introduced; and (3) whether he is satisfied that the results have justified the expenditure.
Written Answers. - Litter Warden Service.
38.
The information requested in relation to the cost of the litter warden service is not available in my Department. A total of 429 prosecutions for various offences under the Litter Act, 1982, were brought by local authorities in the period from the coming into operation of the Act to the end of 1984. I am not in a position to say how many of these were successful or how many related to the dropping of litter.
Under the Litter Act, litter control is a local authority responsibility and the individual local authorities are in the best position to judge whether particular expenditures on control aspects have been reflected in the results achieved. I am satisfied that there is a need for continuing and, indeed, increased effort by local authorities to combat the litter problem and that decisions on how to deal with the situation in different areas can best be made by the local authorities concerned.