Hamstrung councils still cannot use CCTV to catch illegal dumpers
The LGMA is required to submit draft codes of practice to set standards for the operation of CCTV.
Data protection concerns mean CCTV still cannot be used by local authorities to address illegal dumping, even though an act was passed to permit this.
It has led to claims that local authorities “are being given the tools to tackle illegal dumping with one hand and stymied by further bureaucracy with the other.”
The Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 became law last September, providing for the GDPR-compliant use of CCTV for waste-enforcement purposes.
However, a Government response to a parliamentary question from Labour TD Seán Sherlock revealed that local authorities are still hamstrung.
Local authorities are currently not in a position to use CCTV to monitor illegal dumping, a response from the minister for the environment, climate, and communications confirmed.
To address data protection concerns, the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act requires that the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) prepares and submits to the minister draft codes of practice to set standards for the operation of CCTV to deter dumping.
“The preparation of Data Protection Impact Assessments [DPIAs] is also required as part of this process, which the LGMA are currently progressing," said the response from the minister's office.
“The draft codes of practice will be submitted to me [the minister] by the LGMA for approval as soon as practicable. Once approved, local authorities will then be able to put in place both litter and waste-enforcement measures involving the GDPR-compliant use of technologies such as CCTV.”
Mr Sherlock said there is widespread frustration that CCTV cannot be used to catch illegal dumpers, with many of the worst litter blackspots well known to local councils.
"Either the Circular Economy Act works to defeat illegal dumping or it doesn’t. Having another layer for local authority staff to navigate when they should be focusing in on illegal dumpers makes no sense," said Mr Sherlock.
Labour Senator Mark Wall said: “The continued destruction of our towns, villages, and rural areas through illegal dumping has not stopped.
"The minister committed when adopting our own bill as part of this circular economy bill that local authorities would have the legal standing to use CCTV as a defence against this illegal dumping.
"It is very disappointing to see that we are still not nearer that situation. Tidy towns groups and those that go out every week to clean up their communities deserve better," he said.
"It’s time we took this problem seriously; our reputation as a beautiful green country is at stake here.”
The 2022 final litter survey conducted by An Taisce for the group Irish Business Against Litter found that Mahon in Cork ranked worst nationwide for littering.
Mahon was considered “seriously littered”, with both “casual litter” and dumped items including dirty nappies.
Other areas in Cork identified as “littered” included blackspots such as Kennedy Quay, Carmelite Place/Western Rd and the North Ring Rd.
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