I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 and 57 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 2019 and is available on their website at www.epa.ie.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.Questions in relation to the full annual costs of waste enforcement and the number of entities fined under the Waste Management Acts by individual local authorities should be directed towards those specific authorities.