I welcome this Bill. Many people in County Mayo were annoyed last summer when they read letters in the Irish Independent and The Irish Times by somebody from Dublin who had visited the county and saw that rubbish bins had not been emptied. Mayo County Council has made every effort over the years to keep beaches and towns as tidy as possible. I had intended to respond to that person at the time but I let it go. However, that person was not critical of the people who left litter on these beaches. Some of them came from other parts of the country, and not all from County Mayo.
I am annoyed by people who go to the beach for the day, particularly with young children, and change napkins, which council workmen have to go out next day to pick up. Why will these people not bring a bag to dispose of them when they go home through the refuse service provided in their area? I cannot understand why that cannot be done and why they expect Mayo County Council to clean up these beautiful beaches after them. The council does not destroy these beaches; it is the people using them.
The council is preparing a draft action plan to deal with litter and hopes to work with the business community, schools and voluntary organisations to try to get this plan up and running. I congratulate Mid-West radio, particularly Mr. Paul Claffey who has a mid-morning programme. For many months last summer, he sent roving reporters throughout the county to check on the dumping of litter and bags. His investigators went through these bags until they got the name or names of people who might have been foolish enough to leave a reference by which they could be traced. It worked well and on many occasions these people had to come back in the middle of the night to collect these bags and dump them. He created awareness and sparked discussion in the county on dumping. There is no need for people to be dumping black bags and washing machines because in most areas a good refuse service is provided by the council or private sources. This Bill will be a waste of time if people caught dumping cannot be brought before the courts and prosecuted. On-the-spot fines should be provided for in legislation for those who are caught. The media has a part to play in this. It must be highlighted locally and nationally.
There are dog wardens in the county and when that system was introduced people said it would not work. This Bill will not work if each county does not have a litter warden and if councils are not prepared to provide money to pay them. They must be able to issue fines, bring people before the courts and prosecute them. It must be simplified and I hope the media will help with this.
Every county should set up a similar plan to that in County Mayo. The Bill states that people living within the 30 mile per hour zone in towns and villages have to clean the streets and roads outside their homes. Every Sunday a priest in my area says that if everybody swept outside their own doors, there would be no problems. However, that does not happen. The council has a part to play and so does the business community.
One group of people has upset me for many years because of the late hourse they keep their shops open and the litter they create around their premises. They get away with murder and it is time legislation was introduced to control their opening hours and to make them clean up outside their places of business. I am talking about take-away restaurants whose owners make a lot of money. Some of those in our town stay open until almost 5 a.m. and people are unable to get a decent night's sleep but that is another issue. No Government has had the courage to take on this group and to stipulate that they should close by 2 a.m., they are allowed to stay open almost until morning if there are people looking for food, and they are allowed to throw their rubbish where they want. Take-aways should be required by law to have a litter warden in the shop who will clean the street outside after the shop closes. People going to Mass on Sunday mornings can see that these places are a disgrace.
Who has to clean up after them? The councils must provide the staff and do the job. We hear people talking about doctors and surgeons but probably the worst paid people in the State are council workers. Many of them would be better off on social welfare but they want to work. They have raised good families while working hard for the councils over the years, cleaning the streets and collecting refuse. They must be complemented for doing an excellent job under terrible circumstances. I have been in local politics since 1979 and at public meetings I have never let anyone criticise our council workmen. They are badly paid and do a tough job. When looking for litter wardens under this Bill perhaps we should consider giving council staff an opportunity to take these jobs, because they have gained experience from the service they have given to the councils. The councils should provide at least one litter warden per county. While one may not be enough at least it would be a start.
A man who called himself the "Gumbuster" was cleaning up chewing gum in Dublin recently. I hope he becomes a millionaire because he was the first man I have seen doing this. I challenge Members of the House to walk more than five yards down a street in Dublin without seeing chewing gum on the footpath. This is a terrible habit. Why do people not put their gum into a piece of paper and throw it in the bin instead of spitting it on the street? Legislation should be introduced to prosecute people who are caught doing that. I compliment this man on seeing a niche in the market and setting up his own business. I hope every local authority will give him some work because he deserves to be rewarded for his initiative. Perhaps the Department of the Environment would notify local authorities about this man so that he can employ a few people.
The councils also must play a part by providing more litter bins and collecting refuse more often. This will cost money but, in general, people are prepared to pay for a service to collect their rubbish. Private businesses are also willing to invest but they find that while the council is prepared to take on the easier urban business, it expects private companies to go to rural areas. That should not be the case, there should be a mix. County councils should make a deal with private businesses so that they can make a livelihood.
I hope that every council does the same as Mayo County Council and draws up a plan to educate young people about litter. On the way from Mayo this morning I was driving behind an articulated lorry. Every two minutes the driver was throwing out orange peels and apple cores and hitting my car. I signalled to him when I overtook him but I will not tell the House what kind of signal he gave me in response. People must be educated to bring their rubbish home. Why should this man throw it away when he knows someone else has to pick it up?
When travelling to Dublin I also observe many dead animals that have been hit by cars or lorries. If I see one when I travel up on Tuesday it is usually still there when I go home on Thursday or Friday. County councils will have to employ litter wardens so that these animals will not be left to rot for a week.
I hope every council educates young people in school about litter. Pupils now have civics classes and they are probably more civic-minded that older people — we did not get such training when we went to school. We should set up competitions to make them aware of the environment. In the next few months Mayo County Council will have writing competitions in which young people will be involved and prizes awarded. If young people talk and think about litter they will think twice before throwing it away in towns or at the seaside.
I welcome the Bill. The most important provision is the one making each council appoint a litter warden. If that does not happen the Bill will fail and we will have wasted our time. The Bill must have some teeth and allow councils to impose on-the-spot fines and bring people to court. The public must know we will no longer tolerate people dumping litter in towns or at the seaside. During the summer months people come into Westport and, when the litter bin is full, they will take their rubbish from the boot of the car and leave it on the street.
People should be more conscious of the environment and not dump rubbish where they like. We have the best county in the world with one of the most beautiful environments, if people would only treat it properly. Litter does not find its own way onto the street, people dump it there. Local authorities are providing litter bins, refuse services and tipheads. Why do people destroy our countryside and beaches or throw chewing gum on the street? I cannot understand it. We must put proper legislation in place and indicate that we will not tolerate this any longer and if people are caught they will be prosecuted. We need more people like Mr. Paul Claffey and the media should highlight the matter.
All last summer there was a major debate in Mayo about people dumping rubbish throughout the county. That campaign was successful and after a few weeks the litter problem died away because people knew they were being watched. If someone knows that his name or initials will be read out over the airwaves for dumping rubbish, he will not do it again.