Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2021
83. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the cost of illegal dumping to Cork City Council from 2018 to 2020; the number of fines issued for each of these years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11658/21]
View answer84. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the cost of illegal dumping to Cork County Council from 2018 to 2020; the number of fines issued for each of these years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11659/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 84 together.
Enforcement actions against illegal waste activity are a matter for the local authorities and the Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE) within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). My Department does not compile statistics in relation to costs incurred or fines imposed by individual local authorities.
The EPA compiles comparative statistics on local authority performance relating to their waste enforcement activity under the Recommended Criteria for Environmental Inspection (RMCEI) process. Their most recent report in this regard is for the period 2018 and is available on their website at www.epa.ie. The 2019 report is due for publication in March of this year.
Information is also available through the Local Government Management Agency’s series of service indicators annual reports which are available from the publications section of the LGMA’s website https://lgma.ie/en/publications/performance-indicators/noac-performance-indicators-report-2019.pdf
The Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities (WERLA) Annual Report for 2019, available at www.werla.ie also contains useful data regarding actions taken by the wider local authority sector under the Waste Management Act.
Illegal dumping is first and foremost a matter of individual responsibility and compliance with the law. While enforcement action in this area is a matter in the first instance for local authorities. My Department encourages a multi-facetted approach to tackling the problem, incorporating enforcement, public awareness and education and, as such, provides significant funding to support the activities of both the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities (WERLAs) and the national network of local authority waste enforcement officers. Questions in relation to the full annual costs of waste enforcement by individual local authorities should be directed towards those specific authorities.
