Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 February 2005
259 Mr. O’Dowd asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has satisfied himself that the 140% increase in expenditure on street cleansing from €25 million in 1997 to €60 million in 2001 has realised a commensurate improvement in street cleanliness. [3989/05]
View answerIt is a matter for each local authority to determine the level of expenditure on individual local services, including its cleansing and anti-litter operations, as part of its annual estimates process. It is important, however, that local authorities provide an adequate level of funding for their street cleansing and litter warden services. In this regard, three national anti-litter initiatives — the An Taisce led project, national spring clean, the Irish business against litter, IBAL, national litter league, and the national litter pollution monitoring system — confirm that local authorities are taking more extensive, rigorous and targeted action to tackle litter pollution and are also raising public participation in local awareness and clean-up actions. I am pleased to note that these initiatives show that national litter pollution levels generally are falling.
Primary responsibility for developing and implementing responses to the litter problem rests appropriately with local authorities. Since the introduction of the Litter Pollution Act 1997, local authority performance on enforcement of the litter laws has improved significantly, with more litter wardens employed and substantial increases in the number of prosecutions taken and on-the-spot fines issued.
