Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 February 2016
93. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to provide additional assistance and funding to South Dublin County Council to allow it to take further effective action in respect of the scourge of litter, graffiti and illegal postering throughout the county; if he appreciates the concerns of the wider community on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4545/16]
View answerI appreciate the concerns of the wider community in relation to these matters. The Litter Pollution Acts, 1997 to 2009, provide the statutory framework to combat the litter problem. Under the Acts, the primary management and enforcement response to littering is, in the first instance, a matter for local authorities.
It is a matter for each local authority to determine the most appropriate course of action to tackle litter pollution locally, within the legislation provided, including the most appropriate public awareness, enforcement and clean- up actions in relation to litter, taking account of its own local circumstances and priorities.
Penalties available under the Litter Pollution Acts for litter offences range from an on-the-spot fine of €150, to a maximum fine of €3,000 on summary conviction, and a maximum fine of €130,000 on conviction on indictment. The fines for continuing offences are €600 per day for summary offences and €10,000 per day for indictable offences. A person convicted of a litter offence may also be required by the Court to pay the local authority’s costs and expenses in investigating the offence and bringing the prosecution. The latest figures available from my Department’s National Litter Pollution Monitoring System, a system designed to monitor the extent, severity and composition of litter nationally, demonstrate that the litter situation is continuing to improve across the country.
However, I believe that there is no room for complacency. Accordingly, as the Minister with responsibility for this area, I encourage a multifaceted approach to tackling the litter problem, incorporating enforcement, public awareness and education. As such, through the Environment Fund, my Department supports several anti-litter initiatives to combat litter across the country, including:
- The National Spring Clean,
- The Green Schools Program,
- Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) - Litter League,
- Tidy Towns,
- The Local Authority Anti-Litter & Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme, and
- Negotiated Agreement with the Banking and Chewing Gum industries.
Under the Anti-Litter and Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme (ALAGS), which my Department has co-funded for local authorities since 1997, local authorities are responsible for selecting suitable projects for funding and deciding on individual grant allocations. The scheme requires that projects selected should promote greater public awareness and education in relation to litter, including the issue of dog fouling, and since 2008, graffiti. Under ALAGS, they should also, where possible, focus on voluntary initiatives by community and environmental groups and involve schools and young people in anti-litter and anti-graffiti action. Typically, eligible projects include local media campaigns, clean-ups, primary/secondary school competitions, exhibitions and the production of videos, posters and leaflets. The maximum grant for a project may be up to 70% of the cost, with the balance being met by local contributions. A total of €690,000 was made available to fund suitable projects under the scheme in 2015 and I have already made provision for similar funding in 2016.
In addition, due to specific issues in the South Dublin and Wicklow uplands, my Department has provided support for the Protecting Urban and Rural Environments (PURE) project in that area. I made funding of €90,000 available for the PURE initiative in 2015.
I believe that raising awareness of the litter problem, particularly through demonstrating by our own actions a more responsible attitude to littering, is pivotal to educating our young people in order to effect a change in society’s attitudes towards litter disposal in future generations.
