Sinn Féin TD for Roscommon/Galway Claire Kerrane has reported illegal dumping at the River Suck Callows, a special area of conservation in Ballinasloe to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, who are responsible for these protected areas.
“I first reported illegal dumping, which has become a regular occurrence in this area, to the NPWS last September. They carried out an inspection and identified flytipped household and other waste. They then reported the matter to the Environment Section of Galway County Council. Any such prosecution is under the remit of the Environment Section and I will be following up on this issue.
“This comes as further illegal dumping was brought to my attention in Ballinasloe over the weekend. It is very clear that the current deterrents to illegal dumping are not working. The fine of €150 is inadequate, especially when one considers how much households are paying annually for waste collection.
“There is also an issue with the use of CCTV, a solution many turn to however, one that is being affected by GDPR meaning that most CCTV cameras are actually useless even in cases where you can easily identify the perpetrator.
“We need to see greater resources for local authorities with adequate numbers of litter wardens on the ground with fines needing to be reviewed. Ultimately, I believe the best solution here is to bring waste collection back under the control of our local authorities. We privatise far too much in this State and much of that privatisation does not serve the people well.
“Bringing waste collection back under the local authority would mean easily identifying those who are not paying for waste collection, they can get a knock on the door and be asked how they are disposing of their waste. Private providers won’t and can’t do this while local authorities can.
“We need to tackle illegal dumping once and for all. It is a blight on our communities and it is frustrating for the majority who pay their waste collection,” Deputy Kerrane asserted.
