Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 November 2006
12 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the responsibilities of local authorities to keep public places free from litter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36507/06]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Litter Pollution Acts 1997 to 2003, primary responsibility for developing and implementing responses to litter lies with local authorities. Local authorities are required, so far as is practicable, to ensure that public roads in their functional areas are kept free of litter. They are also required to take all practicable measures for the prevention, control and disposal of litter in their functional areas. Each local authority determines its level of expenditure on individual local services, including anti-litter and clean-up operations.
Since enactment of the 1997 Litter Pollution Act, local authority performance on enforcement of the litter laws has improved significantly, with more litter wardens employed and substantial increases in the number of prosecutions taken and on-the-spot fines issued. The number of litter wardens employed over this period almost trebled to 406 in 2005, and the number of prosecutions increased more than sixfold from 330 to almost 2,200. The number of on-the-spot fines levied increased about eightfold to some 26,600 over the same period.
Under the National Litter Pollution Monitoring System (NLPMS), local authorities carry out surveys to determine the extent and composition of litter pollution in their areas. The data obtained provides a picture of national pollution levels and measures progress in tackling litter pollution. The data is processed and audited by an independent firm. In recent years the trends indicated by the monitoring system are generally positive. The emerging pattern is of a gradual but steady improvement in regard to the extent of litter pollution countrywide. Litter-free areas are increasing and littered areas including litter blackspots are decreasing. Full details of the survey data are available on the website www.litter.ie.
