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Councils will soon be able to use CCTV to catch illegal dumpers
Senator Malcolm Byrne
Legislation proposed by Gorey Senator Malcolm Byrne that will allow CCTV and other technologies to be used by local authorities to catch illegal dumpers, will be enacted by government before the summer as part of a forthcoming bill.
opment Committees across the country.”
Senator Byrne’s Bill to tackle this issue will be folded into the government’s new Circular Economy Bill which has just been introduced to the Oireachtas. The government bill will also look at measures to further promote recycling.
underpinning legislation, there are data protection con-
Senator Byrne’s bill had been making its way through the Seanad and he has been regularly raising the need to tackle the problem of illegal dumping.
Senator Byrne explained, “In theory, there was no difficulty for local authorities to use CCTV or drones or other technologies to try deter environmental crimes but without cerns.” Some local authorities have faced reprimand from the Data Protection Commission over failures to ensure appropriate protections were in place. A survey of all local authorities by Senator Byrne in 2021 es-
Senator Byrne said, “Government is now prioritising this issue and I’m happy that they are taking on board the measures I set out in my Bill.
timated that the cost of cleaning up dumping and littering
“This is an issue of real concern to every local authority and to local Councillors as well as Tidy Towns Groups and Devel-
glad that we will see local authorities have the necessary
Page 128 - 5th April 2022
nationally runs to between €90m and €100m. Senator Byrne added, “We need to stop this scourge. I’m powers later this year.” n
