Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2020
159. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his plans to combat fly tipping and illegal dumping; if he has allocated funding to local authorities to combat same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40311/20]
View answerSince the introduction of the Anti-Dumping Initiative in 2017, funding of €9.3 million has been provided to local authorities in support of over 1,000 projects, which have resulted in the removal of over 10,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste from our landscape.
€3 million was allocated to local authorities in support of the 2020 Anti-Dumping Initiative, €1 million of which was ring-fenced to combat illegal dumping activities arising from the COVID-19 crisis. Anti-Dumping Initiative funding has supported over 300 projects nationwide. This includes a national anti-dumping awareness communications campaign, Your Country - Your Waste, which I launched last month.
In 2020, €7.6 million was allocated by my Department under the annual Local Authority Waste Enforcement Measures Grant scheme, which supports the recruitment and retention of over 150 local authority waste enforcement personnel. €1.1 million was also provided to support the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities (WERLA) Offices, which were established in 2015 to support and co-ordinate local authority waste enforcement activity. Allocations for 2021 have yet to be finalized, but my Department will continue to invest significantly in the local authority network to ensure that there is a robust, sustainable waste enforcement system in place to combat all illegal waste activity.
The Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy contains a range of additional actions designed to enhance waste enforcement, protect human health and the environment, and provide a strong deterrent effect. Such actions include:
- An enhanced role for WERLAs;
- An Anti-Dumping Toolkit for Local Authorities;
- Greater use of Fixed Penalty Notices.
