Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 October 2021
274. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will provide a briefing on the criteria for and the level of uptake in relation to the local authority enforcement measures grant scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50590/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe conditions which local authorities must meet in order to participate in the Local Authority Waste Enforcement Measures Grant Scheme and avail of the associated funding are as follows. - The number of Waste Enforcement Officers to be employed by each local authority should be based on the categorisation of that authority as developed under the Local Authority Waste Enforcement Funding Model and agreed by the County and City Management Association (CCMA) and my Department in 2019. This model incentivises the provision of dedicated enforcement staff, depending on the category of authority, to be funded at a unit cost of €50,000 per annum per person.
- A defined enforcement lead must be appointed in all local authorities. The designated enforcement lead shall be that authority's representative on the regional operations group
- Recoupment of support staff expenditure should be limited to 10% of the overall allocation. This 10% limit refers to the maximum amount that can be claimed by local authorities for support and/or supervisory staff for waste enforcement activities.
- All local authorities must collaborate with the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authority (WERLA) Offices as required in the context of the enhanced role of the WERLA Offices, the provision of data and the engagement of appropriate technology and training.
- All Waste Enforcement Officers supported by this grant scheme must be solely dedicated to the enforcement of the provisions of waste legislation emanating from the Waste Management Act and related European Directives.
As was the case in 2020, €7.69mn has been allocated in support of the scheme in 2021. Final 2021 claims have yet to be processed, but there was full uptake of the allocation in 2020.
