Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 January 2025
82. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications whether provisions under the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 that allow for the use of CCTV to prosecute individuals engaged in illegal dumping have been implemented, so local authorities can now do so. [46896/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra99. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to outline the progress under Part 3 of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 with regard to the rollout of CCTV and other technologies for the purposes of preventing illegal dumping; the number of local authorities that have now adopted the relevant codes in line with this Act and where the provisions of this Act are being used by local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1710/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 82 and 99 together.
The legislation allowing for the installation and usage of CCTV for litter and waste enforcement purposes required that the Local Government Management Agency submit to the Minister for approval, separate Codes of Practice for the operation of CCTV schemes under the Litter Pollution Act and the Waste Management Act and a further Code of Practice for the use of "mobile recording devices" (e.g. drones) under the Waste Management Act. These Codes of Practice were approved in January 2024 and the relevant sections of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act were commenced on 15th February 2024. The approved Codes of Practice are available on the gov.ie website at gov - Waste Enforcement (www.gov.ie)
It has been open to all local authorities since that date to begin the process of putting the required procedures in place to allow for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant use of CCTV and other mobile recording devices to combat litter and illegal dumping. It is an operational matter for each individual local authority to determine the most appropriate enforcement responses to incidents of illegal dumping, including the use of CCTV and other technologies, while taking account of local circumstances and priorities. As such, my Department does not collate information on the number of local authorities who have adopted the relevant Codes or put in place CCTV schemes to tackle illegal dumping.
