Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 July 2016
305. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of litter wardens assigned in each county nationwide in tabular form and particularly in counties Cavan and Monaghan; if there is a formula for the number of appointments in each county; the person who decides these allocations; the person who appoints wardens; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20619/16]
View answerI have no function as regards the number of local authority staff employed as litter wardens. This is a matter for individual local authorities to decide, taking into account their specific priorities and circumstances. Under the Litter Pollution Act 1997-2009, a local authority may confer authorised status on a member of their staff to act as a litter warden by making such an authorisation in writing.
While my Department does not collate data on the number of litter wardens employed by the local authorities, general statistics on local authority functions, including the number of litter wardens employed by local authorities, are published annually by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) up to 2013, and now by the National Oversight & Audit Commission.
For the period 2004 to 2013, Local Authority Service Indicators Reports, which incorporate statistics on litter wardens, are available on the LGMA website at the following link: www.l.gma.ie/en/serviceindicators/2004to2013.
The most recently published Report for 2014 is available at the National Oversight & Audit Commission website at the following link: http://noac.ie/noac-reports/.
